July 2011: Puddle of Mudd, Mayhem Fest, The Crying Spell, Jared Blake, MC Hammer, Sugar Ray, Joan Jett

July was a busy one! We had a show or two every single week. I'm exhausted going back and looking at all we did.

July 9, 2011: Puddle of Mudd w/ Klover Jane at 'Rockin on the River' festival, Clarkston, WA
We left home early in the morning and got to town for the show, checked in for our passes and made our way back stage to see the Klover Jane gang. POM hadn't gotten to the stage area yet for us to see Paul and meet the new guitar player, Dizzy Devereaux, and new drummer, Shannon Boone. We'll meet them later on.

Klover Jane took the stage to a crowd that wasn't familiar with them at all. Rane Stone, the lead singer had also had a cold was wasn't feeling we but he pushed through and gave the crowd a great show. By the end of their set, the crowd was chanting 'Klover Jane' repeatedly. They gained a few fans that night!

Klover Jane

Puddle of Mudd took to the stage to a crowd that had been sunning and beering themselves for hours. The venue is a golf practice field right on the river so not only did they have paying fans, but fans on the Columbia river in their boats. It was a cool location.

The band had tons of energy and we really like the new additions to the band. Wes at one point though got all tangled up in his mic cord and fell. Paul had to help keep him down with a foot while the techs got him untangled and back up on his feet. He never stopped singing though. We got to shoot the first 3 songs from the pit area and then the rest of the show from side stage. Shannon gave me some great side stage shots when he stood up on his stool.  Puddle of Mudd Photos - Clarkston, WA

 Puddle of Mudd - 'She Hates Me'

July 12, 2011: Rockstar Mayhem Festival at the White River Amphitheater, Auburn, WA

I wasn't expecting to shoot this show at all. I didn't shoot the whole thing though. I was a work when I got a call that there was a photo pass waiting for me at will call. Needless to say, I left work, headed home for my gear and made my way out to White River. 

I arrived in time to shoot Trivium, the headliners on the second stage. This was a band I wasn't familiar with, but I liked photographing them. Great stage show and they had the crowd all amped up before heading over to the main stage for Machine Head.
Trivium Photos

I really like to photograph Machine Head. They are such a different looking band. I told Mike that if he ever wanted to know what my father looked like, all he had to do was look at Robb Flynn! He is a dead ringer. I've got a great shot of Phil Demmel's hair going all over and an even better one of Adam Duce's. I'm not normally into the heavier side of metal, I'm more of a straight up rocker, but I really enjoyed them.
Machine Head Photos

OK, I've seen Megadeth several times now and I'm still not an actual fan of the music, but I'm a great fan of their shows. They put on a great one. I love, love, love taking photos of Chris Broderick. Mike works a ton with David Ellefson, but Chris is my fave. He has the greatest faces when he plays. He's playful with the crowd and just looks like he loves his life. I'm still learning how to photograph Mustaine though. It's very seldom I get a shot that shows his whole face! I finally got to meet David Ellefson after the Godsmack set. He's such a nice guy. 
Megadeth Photos

This is my second time seeing Godsmack. I find myself saying "I'm not a fan" a bunch mainly cause this isn't my personal music scene and I'm still learning about the heavier side and finding the bands I do like in the genre. Godsmack, however, isn't one of them. I do however have a thing for bass players and Robbie Merrell is a GREAT one! Both Godsmack shows I've seen were at this venue and both times, the band hid in the upstairs green rooms and didn't mingle. I haven't heard many nice comments on Sully and I would have liked to see him interact and be proved wrong. I'm a positive person and like to see the good that must be in people somewhere! Although, they could have been proven correct as well. Hmmm....
Godsmack Photos

Disturbed is my enigma band. I've seen them a few times now and I actually like some of their songs, but not live. I'm continually bored with their overall show. Mainly I'm disappointed in David Draiman, the singer. He's boring on stage. He was better this time, but not enough. Yet again though, I loved John Moyer, the bass player. More often than not, those dang bass players save the day!
Disturbed Photos

July 16, 2011: The Crying Spell at the Kirkland Performance Center, Kirkland, WA

The Crying Spell is one of my favorite local Seattle bands and this venue is one of my favorite to see them play. The Center is a newer working theater. They host band nights, plays, and other things. Stadium seating makes it easy for everyone to see and it's an all ages location. I'm able to take the kiddos with me, get them seated and make my way around to shoot. This makes for a great family night.

The band is a modern take on New Wave with a Rock twist. They've coined their style Mod Wave. Their guitar player - Eric Snyder (of Second Coming, Capitol Records) - is amazingly effortless in his sound. His effects always assist in conveying the Mod sound. Len Hotram and Chase Culp (of Point One, Adrenaline Records) on lead vocals and drums respectively and Jason Phraner (of Redlightmusic w/Peter Klett of Candlebox, DMI Records)on bass. This 4-some is one of the best around town. Their past experiences have made them grow in to a collective that is hard working, professional and all around good people. Catch them anywhere you can. There are great things on the horizon for this one peeps! Check out their Reverbnation page to hear some of their music and catch a video!
The Crying Spell Photos

July 21, 2011: Jared Blake at Louie G's, Fife, WA
Louie G's is a great local all-ages venue that promotes youth bands and other local acts. On occasion though, Louie books a national act. This one was a treat! Jared Blake from Season 1 of The Voice. I loved him on the show. I was sad when it didn't make it further. Jared was doing a solo set of shows on his way back home in Nashville. He is quite the story teller during his show as well which really makes the show more of a jam session. He is someone that really needs a break. The talent is there and he is a humble man. There is no ego to be found. Just good 'ole boy meets rock 'n roll with a hint of country. Support him if you find him making a stop in your town!

July 23, 2011: The Boise Music Fest with MC Hammer, Sugar Ray and Joan Jett
Mike and I drove to Boise to attend the fest. This is a FREE festival and attracts upwards of 70K people to the Ann Morrison Park. The park is right along the river but doesn't have a ton of trees. This allows for the great sized crowd but makes it a little painful on a 90+ degree day at an all day festival. We were lucky enough to find a tree until Sugar Ray arrived and we went back to their trailer for a little air conditioning and visiting Mike's long time friends. He had worked for SR for 15 years.

It was time to go photograph MC Hammer. I'll be honest, I didn't think it would be a very good show and was more going to photography for the spectacle of it all. It was a spectacle, but it was a really great show too! Ann Morrison Park still has it - big time! The only ding on him is that he came on stage almost 15 minutes late which I will tie into the rest of the day later.
MC Hammer Photos

Next up was Sugar Ray. I just love these guys. I loved them when I didn't know them and I still love them now that I do. The are the nicest guys you could ever meet. They love their fans and have several super fans that have now become friends. Mark and the guys never disappoint on the stage either. This was the first time I'd seen them since DJ Homicide decided to concentrate on just DJ'ing. This does free up the band to do more of their harder stuff from their 'Lemonade and Brownies' and 'Floored' days. Of course they still play their hits at shows, but I love it when they throw out 'Mean Machine'. It cracks me up to see the fans that don't know they started out as a Punk/Nu Metal band. They've added a percussionist named Al Keith. He's been a friend of Rodney's for years and was a natural fit to add some flare where it had been previously provided by DJ Homicide.
Sugar Ray Photos

Last up for the night was Joan Jett. We saw her back stage on her way up to play and she is one tiny lady. Amazing so much rock comes out of that little frame! We got out to the photo pit only to find out that she was not allowing pro cameras. All I will say is that we saw why. They did allow me to go out there with my cel phone though. It has an 8meg camera so it was as good as a lot of point and clicks, but it was still disappointing not to be able to shoot with the SLR.

I'm going to stop here and do a blog dedicated to the last show of July. This is my discovery band of 2011 so far.... Out of L.A. - Le Butcherettes.

Le Butcherettes opening for the Super Geek League CD release party on July, 29, 2012 at El Corazon, Seattle, WA

Normally I would talk about an entire show but this time I'm just too damn excited to discover this band so I'm going to completely gloss over the local bands they were opening for in this blog.

I got to El Corazon early. I was expecting to get there to see Post Modern Heroes start off the show followed by Witchburn and ending with Super Geek League's CD release show. What I didn't know was that a little known band out of Mexico/Los Angeles got added to the bill as the first act.

When the band took the stage, there were MAYBE 30 people in the house and most of those were band members for the other bands appearing later. I myself was up on the second level talking to Robot from PMH. It took about 30 seconds in to the first song before I was down on the floor right in front of Teri "Gender Bender" Suarez.

She came out on stage in a dress with a white apron covered in some fake blood as if she had been doing some recent butchering. Teri switches between guitar and keyboard with Omar Rodrigues Lopez on bass and Gabe Serbian of The Locust on drums. Think White Stripes with a female lead. Just raw beats with Teri captivating the show.

Not far into the second song, Teri had blood dripping down her face. Another blood pack. It was convincing. She had a kind of 'Carrie' thing going on if you recall the movie.

Once the show was over, I talked to her for a bit. Mainly, I wanted a CD and needed to know if they had any at their merch booth. She thanked me for dancing and said it was beautiful. If you weren't dancing to them, there is something wrong with you. Really wrong.

Anyway. I found out that they were touring with Queens of the Stoneage but since Queens was opening for Soundgarden at the Gorge that weekend, they decided to come to Seattle and book a show instead of taking a few days off. Lucky for me, they had no egos and were happy to open up a local bands show.

Back to the blood pack on Teri's forehead... I finished editing my photos and tagged the band in the album. Needless to say that I was shocked when Omar said that she had actually cut her head open on one of Gabe's cymbals. She didn't say a word. She just kept on performing and didn't let on she was injured! She became my hero right then and there. I still in awe of her not stopping to get attention to her forehead. She'd rather finish a set for 30 people than stop. Please take a quick look or listen to them on YouTube or Facebook.