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

1996 was supposed to have been the year I moved out of Chicago, I had already quit my job with Kodak and was actually pretty excited of a change of scenery, but things happen and I was going to be in Chicago one more year before finally relocating in the winter of 1997.

I pushed myself more than ever to get in more studio time to make ends meet, I had already been Ronald Anthony’s [my mentor] location/studio assistant in Park Ridge since ‘94, and the desire to photograph bigger events was becoming more and more intense than ever before.

I spent my free time trying to make new connections and reconnect with some people in the music industry, mostly in the rock n roll scene. Namely with some of the indie record labels; Roadracer [later to become Roadrunner], Nuclear Blast. along with radio station WWBZ [TheBlaze] later to become Rock 103.5. There were a couple of things that played against me at the time, 1. most people I had known in the industry during this time didn’t stay with their label but for only a few months at a time, there were always new faces when the A&R and sales rep people would come around. and 2. everyone was either wanting to photograph the Rock scene or had a pretty good hold onto there spots. So I needed a new game plan, I needed to do something different, think outside the box. Then it hit me. Country music, nobody was covering this genre in Chicago, though it was picking up momentum and hitting the mainstream quite quickly.

Marty Stuart, Country Fest, 1997

WUSN [US99] it did look to be a good fit for me, so I asked around and though it took several months of cold calls I Found CBS Broadcasting had recently acquired the station, which brought in a new station manager (Alan Sledge)  program director (Steve Lee), a good opportunity for me to make a connection and present my proposal in becoming their event photographer. So at this point, I started to write out many key points for what I had to offer; such as meet and greets at events, live images of the events (both crowd and stage) and on the air coverage of guests.

I believe it was late winter or early fall in 1996 that I got the nerve to pick up the phone and make first contact, and with that call and initial meeting thereafter, I became the official event photographer for WUSN-FM (US99), covering all their station sponsored concerts, I also photographed all their behind the scenes and meet and greets between 1997 and 1998. This opened a lot of doors that would have been left closed, if I had not taken that first step and believed I was good enough to be that guy in the pit, and why not me.



Wynonna Judd, Country Fest, 1997

Bryan White

Country Fest, Chicago, Il. 1997

Keith Urban

Lambs Farm, Libertyville, Il. 1997

Paul Brandt

Country Fest, Chicago, 1997

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

Luther Allison, Chicago Blues Festival, 1995

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

I'm With The Band

The Smashing Pumpkins, a band called The Blind Venetians a  famous club called The Cabaret Metro in Chicago: This blog is dedicated to the memory of  Matt Suhar, Lead singer of the Chicago based band, The Blind Venetians.

The only concert I can remember I paid for in my life was the KISS Dynasty tour back in 1979, with opening act Judas Priest when they’d played at the Chicago’s Amphitheater on Chicago’s far south side. Come to think of it, I had never bought many physical albums or CD’s, most if not all in my collection from back in the day were promo copies sent out from the various record companies to the distributors weeks prior to their actual release dates,  those were just some of the perks working in the music industry, then there were the CD release parties and the concert tickets, any show and just about any venue.  The catch was you had to show up to these release parties, cause if your rep didn’t see your name crossed off the list the following day, well, don’t ask for anything else, well at least for a while.

I was supposed to have seen Guns n Roses at Alpine Valley in May of 1991, unfortunately I had to return those tickets to Geffen Records, guess I missed a few obscure release parties that year, but I was told later they overextended the tickets they had given to people, but the following year, oh yes, I was comped without asking and seen them live in Tinley Park with openers, Skid Row in the summer of 1991. again, These were just a few of the perks. From working in the music industry.

Which brings me to April 11, 1992.  This was a night to remember. Guns n Roses with supporting act The Smashing Pumpkins, at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Ill.  Smashing Pumpkins are set to open a sold out show for Guns n Roses on their last night at this venue. The Pumpkins hit the stage giving an electrified set, they ended there show with Billy Corgan taking his Mike stand and smashing one of many metal grates that made up parts of the stage; he created a pretty good size crater when he was done. Soon the lights were on and the wait for the main act begun, and we waited, and waited, and waited.

Then after what seemed an eternity all in attendance heard the announcement, that Guns n Roses would not be taking the stage and we were to exit the arena. Found out later that Axl Rose had a warrant for his arrest waiting for him, so he skipped out, leaving the packed house pissed off and cheated. Oddly I was not a bit phased by this, considering I seen them the year before.

The night was still young, so myself and some friends decided to hit up the Cabaret Metro, the famous rock club on the north side of the city in the Wrigleyville area, the same place the Gunners rented out the upstairs for 2 months while working on the very album they were touring 3 years prior. We had some friends that were playing a show there and we would just make it before their set time, as long as the Blue line train was on time, we were looking at just over an hour to travel back to Wrigleyville. This was to be the cap for our Saturday night.

Once we arrived and paid the cover; whatever that was, maybe around 8 bucks or so. We soon made our way to the upstairs portion of the club and found our friend Jimmy, we told him what had happened in Rosemont with the Gunners. he, in turn, told us his band, The Blind Venetians were to hit the stage as soon as the band currently playing finished their set. So we all made our way to one of the archways just left of the stairway that led to the main floor of the Metro to chat some and watch the band.

It wasn't soon after that, well you know that feeling you get when you know someone is standing right behind you, and 1 out of 10 there is not a soul nearby? Well, this was the 1 time my instincts were right, as I looked, there stood Jimmy Iha, the guitarist with the Smashing Pumpkins right behind us. Me never in my life a “fanboy” type stood there looking at him for a moment while at the same time tapping my friend Jimmy on the shoulder. 

Jimmy first looks at me then directly behind me, “Dude”! as the 2 greeted one another, the Jimmies knew one another, I believe they went to high school together, and like most bands that played the Metro, everybody knew everybody. My friend Jimmy asked Iha where the rest of the band were and soon I was hanging out with the Smashing Pumpkins and my friends in The Blind Venetians. What a way to cap off the night.