My concert photography is tempered by a lifelong love of music and concerts, crossing a diverse array of musical genres. My childhood was spent immersed in my parent's record collection of John Denver, Neil Diamond , Hank Williams Sr., Simon and Garfunkel, and Bob Dylan. At about age 12, my oldest brother turned me onto "the loud stuff". Bands like, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Kiss, David Bowie, and Rush. I was drawn to the theatrical performances of David Bowie, Kiss, and Alice Cooper, I was hypnotized by the otherworldly characters and tableaus these bands created.
At this time, I was also an avid reader of rock music magazines, I was drawn to the articles and imagery of the concert photography in Creem Magazine, Circus Magazine, and Rolling Stone Magazine. In high school I began attending concerts; Fleetwood Mac (my first concert 1979), Judas Priest, Def Leppard, the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rush (which I sneaked my 35mm camera into ). At the Rush show, I shot one roll of 800 asa ektachrome. I clicked away, as I sat on my friends shoulders, just hoping to get something good. The next day I dropped off the roll film to the lab and I had them push it 2 stops (pushing film allows relativity low sensitive films to be used under low lighting conditions that would ordinarily be too low for a correct exposure. It is either developed at a higher temperature or It involves developing the film longer). A few days later I picked up my slides with eager anticipation. As I placed the slides on the light table, I felt a feeling of joy and satisfaction come over me. In the end, I only got about three good shots, but it was worth it. This experience would be the spark that would set the flame in me. That was 33 years ago.
Today, I still feel that thrill when I photograph a show, I feed off the energy that the performers are projecting up on the stage, and I try to capture that energy with my camera. At some shows it's like being in the eye of a hurricane, high energy, loud, and chaotic, frankly, I find it to be quite exhilarating.
RUSH 1982 Tingley Coliseum Albuquerque N.M. My First concert to photograph.
Rob Zombie Uproar 2014 Isleta Amphitheater