Places: Babcock State Park, West Virginia
**Please note that we will add more images from this show as time permits.
HURT
**Please note that we will add more images from this show as time permits.
I should have been in Louisville, Kentucky, this night, reporting on my good friends in Stereoside (there’s an interesting story associated with that as well); instead, my friend and fellow shutterbug, Shannon Lindsay from MUEN Magazine, asked whether I would like to cover a band from Virginia called Hurt; of course, I seized the opportunity, we were heading to Johnson City, TN, to a club called Capone’s.
**Please note that we will add more images from this show as time permits.
Megadeth: 2009 Endgame Tour
A few interesting stories came about when I covered the 2009 Megadeth Endgame tour stop in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the well-known Velarium. Megadeth headlined the show, with Machine Head and Suicide Silence as the opening acts.
A few interesting stories came about when I covered the 2009 Megadeth Endgame tour stop in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the well-known Velarium. Megadeth headlined the show, with Machine Head and Suicide Silence as the opening acts.
The Knoxville show was scheduled for November 22, but I rushed to request credentials on the 19th. Usually, you should ask for access at least a week in advance, so I knew I might get turned down. My main contact at Roadrunner Records, Megadeth's label, helped me get approved to cover Megadeth—just in time.
On the day of the show, I got to the venue just in time to cover Megadeth, despite my time constraints. I was disappointed, but I was alright with it.
The press pit usually runs along the stage and is about four feet wide in small clubs, sometimes even less. For Megadeth, though, the center of the pit was filled with some of the band’s equipment, so I couldn’t move around to get different shots. I thought I knew that Dave Mustaine almost always sang facing his left, but I ended up on his right and couldn’t switch sides in time. I made the best of it and, once again, tried not to stress.
There were about four or five photographers in the pit, and I recognized a couple as locals. We each found a small spot to work from, hoping to get the best shots we could. There’s one thing I’ve never understood—it happens at a lot of concerts. Some women feel the urge to pull up their shirts and expose themselves to everyone nearby. This happened to me and one of the local photographers while we waited for the show to start. A young woman behind us tapped the local guy on the shoulder. He turned around, she gave him a big grin and said hello, then did the same to me. I guess she wanted more attention, because she tapped us both again on the shoulder, and when we turned around, she lifted her shirt to her chin with a huge smile. We weren’t shocked or offended; we just laughed loudly and turned back around. Then the show began.
At most events I photographed, the rules were always the same: shoot for three songs, no flash, then you were finished. Usually, someone would lead you off the main floor to leave the venue. Sometimes, you could store your gear in the main office and stay to enjoy the rest of the show. This time, when we were escorted out of the photo pit, none of that happened. Security just let us walk around the edge of the crowd, so I did. I even made my way to the middle of the crowd, on Dave’s left side, and managed to get some better photos. It turned out to be an amazing evening.
Galgano Records Distributors: 1991
We were one of the largest music distributors in the Midwest. Everyone I worked with knew all the artists’ catalog numbers and their labels by heart. We were all good at our jobs.
Galgano Records, 4001 North Ravenswood Avenue,
The last place I remember Galgano Records being located was at 4001 North Ravenswood Avenue in Chicago. Right at the corner of Irving Park Road and Ravenswood Avenue. We occupied the entire first floor, and hardly anyone else used the building. For nostalgia, the first spot I remember was at 4125 West Armitage Avenue back in the 1970s; it was located on a whole city block between Kedvale and Keller on Chicago’s west side. I worked there after school and spent my summers working full-time.
The group I remember best is the one from Ravenswood Avenue. We felt like family. Our company picnics were always held at John Galgano Senior’s summer home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and they were big events.
We were one of the largest music distributors in the Midwest. Everyone I worked with knew all the artists’ catalog numbers and their labels by heart. We were all good at our jobs.
We had tons of record release parties, concerts, and promotional vinyl and CD’s weeks before the official release dates. I spent plenty of time backstage, hanging with people from the record label and with band members. It was always business, never any nonsense—I promise (fingers crossed).. These kinds of events inspired me to get into music photography. In fact, my boss’s son, John Galgano Jr., offered to buy me my first camera, a used Pentax Z10n with three lenses, in 1991.
John Galgano Jr.
James Galgano
Maria
Suzie
Doug Morris
Paul
Brian
Paul Steinbrunner: Mr. Rolling Stones Catalog
Jennifer
Rick
John Vaughn
Free Your Mind
Would I recommend joining a chapter? I’d suggest checking the chapter’s social media to see if it’s active or just sitting there. If it looks like an absentee parent who left for milk and cigarettes, they probably aren’t coming back.
I didn't update my information with the new card(s), so instead of renewing my dues for July, I decided to cancel my membership with the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers . Then again, I've debated this move for quite some time, and I've been an ASMP professional member for 8 years. Hard to believe that, in that time, there was no interaction with members of the Central Virginia chapter in Richmond (my chapter). In the beginning, I tried a few times to reach out to fellow members and board members about becoming a member, but I have received no response. It took the National organization reaching out to 2 other photographers from 2 different states/chapters to look at my website and sponsor me for membership, not the Virginia chapter I intended to join. Then again, I never had any contact in my group about seminars, meetings and/or events, but I have never received a response. Their Facebook fan page, ASMP Central Virginia, as well as their personal Facebook page for the ASMP Central Virginia chapter, hasn't been active in years, and their website on the national page has had no activity whatsoever, so yeah, it was an easy choice to make.
Am I bad-mouthing the national organization? No, I’m just sharing my experience of a chapter of this organization. I’m not saying this organization is a bad fit for any creative; it depends on whether a chapter is actively engaged with its members or just there like a cardboard cutout of a police car on the side of a road.
Chapters I have seen active on social media every month in their own cities or states without fail include Colorado, Ohio, Chicago/Midwest, and Connecticut. It’s a shame others fall short. When I was younger and starting my photography journey, I knew of the ASMP as defenders of photographers’ rights, and through several notable photographers admired, such as Robert Capa, Richard Avedon, Joe McNally, Mark Seliger and Gordon Parks. I too wanted to be part of something bigger; I wanted to network with others on a larger scale. but I was not ready, and my portfolio was nearly nonexistent.
The American Society of Media Photographers as a whole is a wonderful organization with a strong reputation. Would I recommend joining a chapter? I’d suggest checking the chapter’s social media to see if it’s active or just sitting there. If it looks like an absentee parent who left for milk and cigarettes, they probably aren’t coming back.
