Cleveland, OH

Wow, just wow, Cleveland. You're something else. We drove in from Ann Arbor and pretty much headed straight to the in-store performance at Blue Arrow Records. First off, this place is awesome. A great selection of vinyl and cats everywhere. Everywhere. So great. We played 5 tunes, picked up some shirts and vinyl and headed out to the show we had at Bevy in Birdtown. It's a cozy bar with a huge back room with a huge stage. We loaded in and then walked around for a few minutes. Met some of the local flavor while walking around and eventually stumbled into Mahall's 20, a really cool vintage bowling alley that hosts indie shows. We even bumped into Chastity Belt in the lobby! Just saw them open for Courtney Barnett a few weeks ago. The show was fun, the food at the venue was great and our opening act for the night, Tanya Koz was high energy.

Ann Arbor, MI

Dressing room selfie

Last night we stayed at Joel's awesome little town, Marshall, MI. A great spot with tons of cute little houses and a downtown lined with American flags and smiling faces.

We rolled into Ann Arbor got set up and then checked out a few record stores and clothing shops before sound check. The venue, Power Center for the Performing Arts was an amazing venue with late-60s concrete bunker architecture and beautiful sound. Our set went really well, you could hear a pin drop while we played and the crowd really seemed to hang on out every note. Unreal.

The Indigo Girls played a long set of favorites and newer tunes and they had the crowd dancing in the isles by the time we rushed the stage to sing Closer to Fine with them.

After the show the girls talked to Kim and were so complimentnary of the band. This whole thing is surreal. Today we head to Cleveland!

The Power Center

The Indigo Girls

Kalamazoo

I may have broke the luggage carrier. We definitely played an in-store performance at Green Light Music in Kalamazoo and then it was off to see the old Gibson factory smokestack! Next up, Joel took us to grab some food downtown before we headed off to play the Old Dog Tavern. The venue was in a great space. A big cozy bar with a huge patio right next to the train tracks and across the street from the Bell's Brewery. We had a fun set as did the other band, Valentiger. 

Oops.

Joel!

The Old Gibson Factory

I Don't Know Where to Start

I really don't. After 3 hours of sleep we headed out to do a TV morning show, play live on WYCE Radio and then it was off to play our first show with the Indigo Girls. What an incredible time.  The venue was amazing. The show was amazing. The Indigo Girls were so nice. We finished off the night singing Closer to Fine with them on stage. You can't make this stuff up.

video link

http://woodtv.com/2015/06/17/the-great-music-of-the-good-graces/

3-State Tuesday

The Daytrotter session was amazing. The show in Chicago was a rush. The 3-hour overnight drive was exhausting.  

Monday, Monday

Driving in the rain, hanging with Robyn's family, drinking some craft beers and feeding geese. As you do in Cedar Rapids.

Get to work!

Robyn put me to work today so I promptly fell asleep in a chair at the back of her booth. 

One of our booth neighbors was Brett Whitacre, drummer for the Legendary Shack Shakers. Great artist and super nice guy.

http://www.brettwhitacre.net

Once again, it was supposed to rain all day and with the exception of some early morning puddles from an overnight storm, the day turned out beautiful again. 

Hope to see you again soon, Chicago. 

Saturday in Chicago

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day​. Most of the places I wanted to go aren't open on Sunday so today was my chance to go see the Chicago Music Exchange and the Art Institute. First off, CME was just amazing. Such a great collection of guitars. I was overwhelmed.

Next up I headed down to the the Art Insitute. It is enormous and they have such a great collection, including Nighthawks and American Gothic. The rest of the day I helped Robyn at her art show. It was a pretty good show and the rain held off until the very end!

Oh, Chicago

We started the day in Indianapolis and ended it at a great little Italian restaurant in Olde Town, Chicago called Ortho. In between we had lunch at the Broadripple Brew Pub, drove through  torrential rains, and a tornado warning and then we did a whole lot of walking around. Tired. Full.

Broadripple Brew Pub

Jumping at the Bean

Turns out it's called the Magnificent Mile. 

We can stow away the sound undergroud

A long day of driving, drinks at The Wellington and a late-night sub from Jimmy John's in Broadripple. That was a pretty great day. Just a few of the places that helped me write a song.

The Wellington

Getting ready to do a thing at a place or 17 places.

Getting ready to do some traveling. Lots of traveling. I'm going to try to do a daily re-cap post here. Will I make it happen? Stay tuned!

Open Ears for Family and Friends

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that I've started working with the fine folks, Jamie and Mike over at Open Ears Music. Jamie and I both shot the Shaky Knees Festival a few weeks back and over drinks (and wings) at The Local (in the lights) we partnered up. Really looking forward to shooting some more shows and getting some more wings. Damn those wings were great.

The first feature I shot for the guys was the Family and Friends after party for the Candler Park Music Festival. 

About a year ago The Sunset District played with these guys at the Drunken Unicorn in front of about 30 people, and all I can say is, WOW these guys are just going through the roof. Saturday night, Terminal West was packed to the rafters full of folks singing along and dancing all the way to the back. I couldn't be happier for them. 

Also on the bill that night was Faye Webster, City Mouse and Monsoon. All of them absolutely fantastic live bands and good folks. Click the link below for a link to the store and a slew of pics by your truly.

FULL ARTICLE AND PICS

Tips for Shooting Concerts

Hey all, I’ve been shooting a ton of live music and festivals lately and I thought I’d share a few tips from the pit. I've still got a TON to learn, but here's a quick shot of. You love lists, right?

1. When shooting an event that runs all day keep an eye on your settings. Weather and light conditions change all the time.

2. Keep your shutter speed fast if you want to freeze the action. The minimum shutter speed you should be using is equal to your lens size. In other words, if you're using a 50mm lens you should keep your shutter speed at 1/50 or above. For live events I like to more than double it, somewhere around 1/125. Using a 200mm lens I'll start around 1/400 of a second.

3. Shoot wire open. When it gets dark shoot using the lowest aperture your lens has. The lenses I was using were at f/2.8, which work great for a well lit event. For smaller clubs I use a 50mm that goes as low as f/1.8.

4. Don't be afraid of high ISO. When you're shooting a band in low light don't be afraid to bump up the ISO to get the shot.

5. 3 songs or 15 minutes. That's typically how much time you'll get to shoot each band. Even if I get more time I usually just stop and enjoy the show.

6. Shoot pictures of the crowd. Sometimes they're way more entertaining than the band.

7. Be considerate of the other photographers that are covering the show. You wouldn't believe what I've seen in the photo pit  at live shows in the last year. Giant tripods, guys crawling on stage, GoPros on sticks in the singer's face... be nice, grab a few shots from your location and then let the next person get in there.

8. Clothes. If you're shooting an outdoor festival wear comfortable shoes and bring some rain gear if it's in the forecast.

9. Network! Bring business cards (if you've got 'em) and meet all the other photographers there. I've made some good friends from the local group and contacts with some of the national folks.

10. Follow up. After shooting the show, contact the PR rep that approved you and send them links to any photos or articles that ran with your images. I take it a step farther and send a note to the band I shot and share the images with them. Sometimes they'll share them with their fans and you'll get some more exposure.

If anyone would like to get out and shoot a band or a festival that's coming up let me know and if you'd like some pointers I'd love to share what I know!

TEDx Atlanta

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to shoot the TEDx Atlanta Conference at the Ferst Center at Georgia Tech. The evening before the talks I visited the venue, and got a quick tour of all the places that I could go, and all the places I needed to stay away from to keep from walking in front of the video cameras and crew from Turner that were recording the event.

I quickly realized that I’d need a long lens and a bright lens to get the best shots of the speakers. The room was very dark, with the exception of the speaker giving the presentation and they didn’t want me to be up in front of the audience or creating a distraction for the speaker. I can’t imagine how stressful it would be to give a TED talk to a room full of folks!

For this shoot I used 2 camera bodies, my crop-sensor Nikon D90 with a 70mm – 200mm f/2.8 for the tight shots of the speakers, and my Nikon D810 with a 24mm-70mm f/2.8 for the room shots.

While all the presentations were fantastic, I was so taken with one that Susanna Spaccia from re:imagine ATL gave that I’ve volunteered to assist in her Green Room project by producing some “band photos” for young kids that are forming musical groups and producing their own music video for a song they’re recording.

If you’d like to know more about TEDxAtlanta, head over to http://tedxatlanta.com.

Mac McCaughn, Flesh Wounds, and Gold-Bears at 529 in Atlanta

Out supporting his new record, Non-Believers, Mac McCaughn (Superchunk) stopped in at 529 in Atlanta to rock out a bunch of new tunes and a few Portastatic and Superchunk favorites. As big a fan I am of Superchunk, the new tunes really shined the brightest, and while the new record has a gritty sheen of old synth sounds the live band was synth-free and all business. Carborro's own, Flesh Wounds played second and acted as Mac's band for his set. Locals, Gold-Bears opened and played a great set of originals. First time I've heard them and I'll definitely check them out a gain.

Gear: Nikon D810 / Lenses: Nikon 50mm f/1.8

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Shaky Boots Music Festival

A few weeks back I had a chance to shoo the Shaky Boots Music Festival, and while new country music isn't my thing, I really love the old country stuff. Well, turns out I was digging the new country too. They put on a hello of a show, and despite a little rain throughout the day the crowd was having a blast.

Here's a few pics from the festival.

CNN story

Would love to work with a great local blog or paper, but there's not a lot of them. Maybe it's time to start one? Anyone have any favorites here in Atlanta they're a regular reader of?

Gear: Nikon D810 / Lenses: 24mm-70mm f/2.8,

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Shaky Knees Festival - Day 3

As the final night of the 2015 Shaky Knees Festival wound down it was clear that this is a festival that has come into its own at a fantastic new location here at Central Park in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta. There were so many stellar sets all weekend that it was hard to pick favorites, but today, sets by Ride, The Both, Xavier Rudd and the United Nations, Ryan Adams and today's headliner, Tame Impala were far and away some fan favorites. As the final notes of the weekend echoed off the midtown buildings the crowd filed out already making plans for next year.

CNN story

Would love to work with a great local blog or paper, but there's not a lot of them. Maybe it's time to start one? Anyone have any favorites here in Atlanta they're a regular reader of?

Gear: Nikon D810 / Lenses: 24mm-70mm f/2.8,

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Torches - I Want Something

Weird little video, but I love this tune. Just came across them on Daytrotter!

Shaky Knees Festival - Day 2

The second day of the Shaky Knees festival had such a strong lineup of bands that I made sure I got there when the gates opened so I didn't miss a thing, and even then with multiple bands playing at the same time I was bound to miss a few favorites. As it was I got to see Wilco, Interpol, Social Distortion, Black Lips, Real Estate and a ton more.

CNN story

Would love to work with a great local blog or paper, but there's not a lot of them. Maybe it's time to start one? Anyone have any favorites here in Atlanta they're a regular reader of?

Gear: Nikon D810 / Lenses: 24mm-70mm f/2.8,

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Shaky Knees Festival - Day 1

Tonight was the first night of the 2015 Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, GA. It featured almost 30 bands including The Strokes, Pixies, TV on the Radio, Mac DeMarco and Atlanta's own Mastodon, The weather was hot and sunny and the crowd soaked up the sun, sampled the food trucks and danced until the very last note.

I had a blast shooting these bands and I met a ton of great folks. I submitted this set to CNN and they picked it up!

CNN story

Would love to work with a great local blog or paper, but there's not a lot of them. Maybe it's time to start one? Anyone have any favorites here in Atlanta they're a regular reader of?

Gear: Nikon D810 / Lenses: 24mm-70mm f/2.8,

More images