Road Stories: My First [Paid] Live Gig Pt. 1 of 2

I remember when I first started to develop a passion for shooting concerts, especially rock concerts, although I had no idea how to go about it. Sure, there were always some street festivals every summer, a lot of them bringing in some major talent along with the local scene, and lastly, there were the street musicians on about every street corner or subway stop. , and they were all easily accessible to anyone with a camera. The summer of 1994 was a turning point for me. I had spoken to almost every established photographer I knew about getting into music photography, and the response was always the same: I had to pay my dues. Though this never dawned on me exactly what dues were or what steps I needed to take to reach my goal.

I remember the summer of '94, I had steady work at the studio. Shooting headshots for aspiring models in and around town, it just so happened that a client had to reschedule an appointment, which left the whole day to myself. So, I decided to venture downtown to the 11th annual Chicago Blues Festival. It was a golden opportunity to engage in some street photography, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

One of the first things that caught my eye as I entered the event area that early morning was a relatively large white tent on the side of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was one of several vendors setting up for the day. It turned out to be legendary music photographer Paul Natkin setting up for a photo exhibition of his work.

Paul has worked with some of the most prominent artists in the music industry, including Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, and Prince, among many others.

I introduced myself, telling Paul I was an aspiring music photographer and asked what should I do to “pay my dues”, and quite simply Paul told me to photograph everything, cover all genres of music and from there build a strong portfolio for bigger and better gigs, and always be professional and to respect other photographers in the pit, and always wait for your shot. That was some of the best advice I had ever received from anyone up to that point. And I always remembered that to this day.

Between 1994 and 1995, I was building my music portfolio, paying my dues. I had the honor of photographing Blues legend Luther Allison (pictured above) with the help of Alligator Records photographer Eugene Kimmons. Most of my blues images were made possible because he took me under his wing; he was a great mentor to me. Ted Hawkins (below) was the first step into music photography. I went into the festival as an observer, waiting for the right shot, though I had hit all the side stages that day, this one stood out for me., Mick Jones (B.A.D./co-founder of the Clash) was another show I did in 1995. My good friend Bert Masa and I decided to attend the Halsted Street Festival. We had just missed the band Better Than Ezra, but we were able to catch Big Audio Dynamite’s set. Yank Rachell and Jimmy Walker, the elder statesmen of the blues, were among the side stages I visited in 1995 at the Chicago Blues Festival. Blind Pig Records/Dellmark Records recording artist, the late great Eddie Campbell (pictured below), was another in the 1995 series of images I shot that helped pave the way for my next step forward into music photography.

Meet and greet with Ted Hawkins, Chicago Blues Festival, 1994.

Halsted street Festival, Mick Jones (Big Audio Dynamite), 1995

Jimmy Walker.(piano) and Yank Rachell (Mandolin) Chicago Blues Festival, 1995