| Sunday October 29, 2006
Stand Alone rock out at Stone Mountain!
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Today I did something I usually refuse to do. I did a portrait shoot for a local band. I did this one at the request of a friend, Eric Newcomber, who seems to be managing this band. They're an Atlanta band called Stand Alone. They're a post grunge / nu-metal type band. I've a feeling they wouldn't like either of those descriptions but that's what I hear. They're actually really good at what they do and they're cool guys to boot. That made it a relatively easy day. Plus, it was good catching up with Eric. He may play a part in the future of the Darlings, too. Hmmmm..... In the evening, Amanda and I took a Sunday drive out to Winder. We wound up eating at what looked to be the only restaurant in town and we gorged suitably. Then we went back home for a little TV. If only we'd had some popcorn...
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| Saturday October 28, 2006
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In the evening, Frank, Joe and I got together. The idea was that we'd sit around, jam with some acoustics, record it and see what happens. We wound up recording 75 minutes of this escapade which included Frank's narrative about what's going down (no pun intended) in his backyard. I'm going to try to edit it down (if I ever find the time) and make it our next "Podcast". It might be a while at this rate, though. Joe even busted out his song "Porno Stack" which (as you might imagine from the title) is highly unlikely to make it into the Darlings' set list. Amanda got back in from another dinner theatre performance just in time to join in on her request. Playing her dinner theatre role of Crystal The Kazoo Queen, she lent her unique stylings to "Phony". I guarantee you'll NEVER hear another version like that. I hope I can get it edited and upped within the next year or so! Right before Joe left, he mentioned that he was going to take an ad out in the classified section of Flagpole looking for a local drummer. I told him to go ahead, no one will call. I'm glad he's taking the inititiative but I'm not expecting anything in the way of results. We had a blast by the way. It was great to just be able to relax and have a good time. There was no tension, no problems. Just 3 guys encouraging each other to be themselves and having a good time. |
| Friday October 27, 2006
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And I forgot to mention. When Chad Smith walked out behind his kit, I started laughing. I leaned over and asked another photographer, "Is it me, or is that Will Ferrell playing drums for the Chili Peppers?" About that time, some girl in the front row started yelling "OH MY GOD! WILL FERRELL IS PLAYING DRUMS!" She didn't hear me (not a chance in that volume). She thought of it herself and was briefly convinced. I had to lean back and tell her that "No, Chad just looks like him." When did THAT happen? But back to today, in the evening, Frank and I got together and went out to TransMet for dinner. It was so nice not to HAVE to be anywhere doing anything. Amanda started work acting at a dinner theatre tonight so she couldn't make it. It's funny that I can get into virtually any sold out rock show but I couldn't get in to her sold out performance. Still, I had a good one. After dinner, Frank and I came back and sampled some boots. A little William Shatner, a little Tin Machine, a little of a lot. Ahhhh.... |
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Thursday October 26, 2006 By the end of the 3rd song, the Chili Peppers had turned things upside down. I wonder how crazy it got by the end of the show!
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There was nothing new during the day today but in the evening, I headed out to The Arena At Gwinnett to photograph Red Hot Chili Peppers. Since I had only one ticket, I gave it to Amanda to go in and check out the first 3 songs, then she gave it to fellow photog Alice Barkwell (the venue OK'd this move) to see the rest. She really, really wanted to see the rest of the show and since there was only one Alice, I gave it to her. She helped Amanda get a good seat at Tom Petty last month. It's good to know that we look out for each other that way. For the record, the first 3 songs (plus an opening jam) were unfreakin' believable. John Frusciante is a guitar GOD these days. It doesn't sound like an opening trio of "Can't Stop", "Dani California" and "Scar Tissue" shoulda rocked that much but they tore 'em up. They were putting so much into the show that by the end of the 3rd song, Anthony Kiedis was already doing handstands on the kick drum. While they were just getting started, I reluctantly took off back to Athens to begin imaging... For the latest on Frank and the "Panty Stalker", click here! |
| Wednesday October 25, 2006
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I got some bad news from back home today. A couple of the people that I often rant about here lost someone dear to them. My sympathy goes out to you and I was sorry to hear it. As for me, it was more of the same. I'm still waaaaayyyy behind. I did get my Chili Peppers ticket. Since there's only one, I probably won't stay. I'm sure I can find someone who wants it. I'm credentialed as a photog anyway and that's always nice. It means I don't have to feel guilty when a review doesn't get written. I saw this today and wanted to share it. Again - I wish I could disagree. From Bill Maher: Oct. 13, 2006 | If you think the worst thing Congress doesn't Read the labels on your food. It turns out the healthiest thing But that's America for you -- a red herring culture, always More young Americans were crippled in Iraq last month than in any Why aren't Democrats and the media hammering away every day about You know who's grabbing your kids at too young an age? Merck, From 1995 to 2002, the number of children prescribed I don't care if Mark Foley had been asking boys to describe their In conclusion, we can pretend that the biggest threat to "our -- By Bill Maher
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| Tuesday October 24, 2006
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Yeah, I'm back to the never ending battle. I feel like Sisyphus sometimes from trying to stay caught up. One day, I think. But then - what will I do on that day? I got the vocals finished for "Something Real". I couldn't quite get it to my satisfaction but it'll have to do for a demo. I'm not looking forward to mixing this one. There's a lot of stuff competing for attention and I've got to figure out where to put it all. Frank came over in the evening. We didn't do anything of value. It was nice. |
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Monday October 23, 2006
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I decided on a whim today to put in to shoot the Red Hot Chili Peppers this Thursday in Gwinnett. The show's been sold out forever. Alice from Playgrounds Magazine encouraged me to give it a shot so I did. So I emailed Bryn and lo and behold, she hooked me right up to shoot for WireImage. Wow! I so wish everything was that easy. I spent a chunk of day today emailing people regarding the KISS related stuff last week. I had to email some pics of Sgt. Al (KISS' photog) that I took of him as well as proofs to Gene Simmons, KISSOnline and the Official KISS Magazine. I also burned off some of my current fixation. This week that's 5.1 (or 4.0) surround mixes of great albums. Fans took their time to make these great versions which often surpass the sound of the original. I've got a great collection of 'em now (even if it's not that big). In fact, I have all of The Beatles' albums except for Let It Be and the Past Masters collections. You might think it'd be crazy to get 5.1 versions of albums originally recorded in mono. That's what I thought until I heard 'em. Un-friggin-believable!
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