live: sharptooth, bad off, and psychodynamic at the meatlocker- 1/19/17

in
live: sharptooth, bad off, and psychodynamic at the meatlocker- 1/19/17

What an interesting year it's been so far. But when times are changing, music- especially punk rock- is as important as ever. Our new president was inaugurated on Friday, and like many of you, I was nervous, and scared of what the future had in store. So what did I do on Thursday night? I went to a punk / hardcore show.

The Meatlocker is a grungy, graffiti-covered DIY venue right in the middle of Montclair, N.J. It feels out of place in the area (there's a Lululemon store across the street- among plenty of other "nice" chains and restaurants) and it's been "shut down" multiple times in the past (but it always comes back to life). I went to see Sharptooth (melodic hardcore from Maryland; I know their bassist Phil through his other band, Something More) but the other two bands I saw, Bad Off (hardcore, also from Maryland) and Psychodynamic (punk, from Jefferson, N.J.) were great as well.

Read More

2016: a year in review

in

2016 has certainly been an interesting year. I shot 129 shows in 2015 but I shot significantly fewer this year, since I was on the road with PETA and peta2 most of the year. I spent this spring on the road for peta2's college campus tour, and made it a point to check out shows on my nights off whenever I was able to. I spent this summer working for peta2 on the Vans Warped Tour, which was a dream come true. I worked hard at outreach, and whenever I had a break or a day off, I was shooting sets. I spent the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall in Orlando as the Tour Administrator for PETA's I, Orca exhibit, where I was able to catch some shows at Backbooth and The Social. This fall and winter, I've worked ten shows for peta2 around the Northeast as a Concert Rep.

This year, I was able to travel to Thailand and Israel (blog post coming soon, but there are a few images up on my Instagram already). I never thought I'd be able to visit either of these places, so to go to both in one year was absolutely incredible.

I'm so grateful for all of the traveling I was able to do this year. I narrowed it down to 22 of my favorite live music images from 2016- some of them I've posted before but some have yet to be seen by anyone but myself. These images were taken in 15 cities across 12 different states; 7 are from Warped Tour and the rest from other shows. There are local bands and some of my longtime favorite musicians.

Without further ado, here are my favorite and most important live music images from 2016.

Read More

thailand.- 5/21/16- 6/3/16

in

(You'll notice that there are many more photos from the first few days of my trip than the last several. Later in the trip, I shot much more with the film camera I'd purchased for the trip, a Nikon N80.) 

Earlier this year, after finishing the college tour with peta2, I flew to Thailand to travel with my brother, Luke, who had just finished up teaching over there. I took a Lyft to LAX on the morning of May 21, and landed in Bangkok- after a layover in Tokyo- late on May 22.

Read More

we're coming home again.- 8/13/16

in , ,
we're coming home again.- 8/13/16

(The title of this post is a reference to "Homecoming" by Green Day.) 

The day after Indiana, we were in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio- having spent four years living in Cleveland for school, this was my "second-hometown" show! I had a feeling when I woke up that it was going to be a good day, and it was. I ran in to so many friends, and I hit goal early which meant I had time to go shoot Good Charlotte again.

Read More

it's a long way up.- 7/19/16

in , ,
it's a long way up.- 7/19/16

(The title of this post is a reference to "Moving On" by Good Charlotte.) 

Virginia Beach to Syracuse, New York was probably the longest overnight drive of the tour. We had an early bus call, but with over 500 miles between stops, we didn't reach Syracuse till after 9am. This meant getting ready while the bus is still moving- putting my contacts in while we were rolling was quite the feat!

Because we got there so late, as soon as we reached the venue it was time to "hit the lines". We walked out to a decent line of kids (Warped Tour had never been to Syracuse, so these kids were probably very excited!) and as we made our way down the line, passing out free wristbands and stickers as they activated with our campaign, the line grew longer and longer.

Read More

learn to be free.- 7/6/16

in ,
learn to be free.- 7/6/16

(The title of this post is a reference to "To Be Free" by Tonight Alive.) 

After we finished training, it was time to begin the 1400 mile trek from Los Angeles to Dallas. You might be wondering how we managed to fit a 20-by-30 foot tent, all of our gear, ten activists and all of their luggage in to one 15 passenger van and one smaller car. The answer is a real life game of Tetris, with the longest tent poles slid under the seats of the van, boxes and gear and luggage piled on top of that (a few suitcases stayed under our feet!). We left Los Angeles on June 19, and drove to Flagstaff, Ariz. that day, where we had dinner at Red Curry Vegan Kitchen.

Read More

gotta keep my feet moving.- 6/18/16

in

(The title of this post is a reference to "Life Changes" by Good Charlotte.)

Once upon a time, I made it a goal to myself to get a job on the Vans Warped Tour. Six years ago I made the promise to myself that when I got a job on Warped, I would dye my hair pink again, at least for the summer.

Last year, I drove around to several dates to photograph the show (more photos and a blog about my experiences here); in 2011, 2012, and 2014, I volunteered at and photographed several different dates. This March, I got the confirmation that I'd be on the first half of Warped Tour (from June 24 to July 16) with peta2; two weeks ago, I dyed my hair pink (using a mix of Virgin Pink and Purple Rain from Arctic Fox).

Read More

i want to be myself again.- 5/20/16

in ,
i want to be myself again.- 5/20/16

(The title of this post is a reference to the song "Forever a Piper Pirate" by Stickup Kid, a band that I always find myself listening to when I'm in California.) 

As soon as we got to Santa Cruz, I walked down to the beach to take in the view of the ocean, but the town is so much more than that: the next day we set up at the University of California, Santa Cruz right in the middle of the woods! It was nice to be in the shade, but even nicer to feel like we were in a little wooded oasis all day. We were joined by several student activists from Banana Slugs for Animals ("B.S.A." for short)- I loved hearing about the other events they do on campus to promote animal rights and veganism.

Read More

i know i can make it.- 5/3/16

in , ,
i know i can make it.- 5/3/16

(The title of this post is a reference to the song "Slam" by Southern California indie-rock band The Gromble. I saw them open for Parade of Lights in Los Angeles back in January.) 

After a relaxing weekend off, we headed to the University of Illinois- Chicago to set up. We ended up spending most of the day leafleting; while it was unfortunate to not have the display up, it was pretty cool to know we handed out literature and info to over 700 people! After grabbing takeout from The Chicago Diner (vegan buffalo wings and poutine loaded with vegan bacon? Yes, please- and better wash it down with a chocolate peanut butter milkshake!), we headed to Madison, Wisconsin.

Read More

always wanted to be an anomaly.- 4/17/16

in ,
always wanted to be an anomaly.- 4/17/16

(The title of this post is a line from "Anomaly" by Angels & Airwaves; I think it's important to strive to be different, to march to the beat of your own drummer- to be an anomaly.) 

On our last full day in Atlanta, I headed downtown to The Tabernacle, to photograph Vance Joy on the Fire and the Flood Tour. I've been a fan of his since seeing him open for Taylor Swift last summer, and it was such a pleasure to see him- as well as openers Jamie Lawson and Blind Pilot- play a full set. A few photos from the show are below; you can see my review and full photo-set of Jamie Lawson and Blind Pilot here, and my review and full photo-set of Vance Joy here.

Read More