Burning Man Day 2: A Cashless Society

There are currently 50,000 people camped in the Nevada desert about 2 hours north of Reno. Every one of them has their own reason for being there. Some have gone to get trashed and party hard, some have gone for the Art, some have gone to gawk and some are there because they have a need to be. Because they feel real there.

This picture of The Burning Man was taken on this day last year. An incredibly impressive structure, it was designed by BM Founder Larry Harvey and Black Rock City Architect and Planner, Rod Garrett (http://www.burningman.com/art_of_burningman/bm09_theme.html) It was truly beautiful to wander through the arches of what felt like giant desert thorns. And then they burnt it. But that's another picture and another story.

Black Rock City aka The Playa, is an unusual place. Something I was not aware of before I went on my own personal pilgrimage, is that no money is allowed there. At all. Once you are on The Playa, your money counts for nothing because you cannot use it.

It's supposed to run on a barter/exchange system, but the whole time I was there nobody asked me to give anything in exchange for what they were giving me. Every morning I'd get up and have a fresh coffee at a temporary cafe some people set up not far from our campsite. Not once was I asked to give or contribute anything in return. Some mornings they gave away fresh croissants as well. (Where the hell did they make fresh croissants in the middle of the desert with dust storms rolling through every day?).

Over the course of my week at Black Rock City I learned that groups of people raise funds all year so they can go to Burning Man, set up a bar/nightclub/cafe/shop etc and give everything away. It's a very liberating experience to live amongst 50,000 people for a week, none of whom are exchanging money. I've never seen anything like it. It was inspiring.

Today with honor and respect for the 50,000 people who make Burning Man what it is, I am listening to Bob Marley's Redemption Song covered by by Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVSTsgcCvw

Burning Man Started Today

This time last year I was on the Playa, close to Gerlach in Nevada. I had arrived in Gerlach on Thursday as the people I was travelling with told me we would be allowed on early. They were mistaken. As it turned out, we spent the weekend in Gerlach where I wandered around taking pictures.

This picture was taken on our way to Gerlach. We had taken the wrong turning and ended up driving about 50 miles on a really bad dirt road and came across this abandoned house along the way.

This was an oasis of green surrounded by parched land that reminded me of Australia in summer time and the house was seriously cool, so I felt compelled to pull over the car and take pictures of it.

This was the beginning of an adventure in the desert that was unlike any I've had before. As Burning Man is happening all week and I am not there this year, I will be devoting this week to posting Burning Man related pictures and telling some of the stories from my trip there last year. To see more about Burning Man check their website here: http://www.burningman.com

Today, with a nod to Daktari, of whom you will hear more over the next few days, I am listening to Arbre Noir performing 'Visions' from their album Madurai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w_NB2LCJ8s

Bachelorette Party or Hens Night?

Yesterday I was supposed to go on an art adventure but instead I stayed home and then in the late afternoon I went and caught up with some friends who were out for a Bachelorette Party and as a surprise for the principal Bachelorette, took some pictures of them before they went really crazy for the night.

This picture was taken around 7pm last night, just as the sun was starting to go down. I'd wandered around location scouting for 5 minutes and found a couple of good spots within a block of the restaurant where they were having dinner.

From left: Julie Moreno, Ramona Clifton, Emily Zuzik (Principal Bachelorette and soon to be Emily Holmes), Dawn Sheggeby, Jeanne Halal and Tanya Skinner were all in a fine mood, ready to party and cause trouble in the accepted tradition of such nights. After taking some pictures and entertaining them for a little while with some stories whilst they picked and salads and replenished wine glasses, I left them to it. From what I understand they caught up with the boys later and had lots of fun at Karaoke. Emily would no doubt have been the best singer on the night as she has her own band. To hear her music, check it here: http://www.myspace.com/emilyzuzik

I find it interesting that this is another area where America stands alone against the rest of the world as Bachelorette Parties are actually known as Hens nights everywhere else. But try calling a Bachelorette a Hen and she's likely to slap you hard, as the impression in the USA seems to be is that a 'Hen' is old & over it, whereas a Bachelorette is still young and full of fun. To see more on this cultural anomaly, check the Wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelorette_party

A friend of mine from Australia, Rayni, is in the process of setting up her company here to do what she has done for Australian women. To see more about her interesting contribution to this old tradition, check her website here: http://www.theartfulhen.com.au

Today in honour of Emily's upcoming nuptials I am listening to the bootleg mix of Wicked Game by Chris Isaak and White Wedding by Billy Idol here: http://hypem.com/track/711889/DJ+Schmolli+-+Wicked+Wedding+Billy+Idol+White+Wedding+vs+Chris+Isaak+Wicked+Game+vs+H+I+M+Wicked+Game+

Chantal Ughi: From Model to Thai Kick Boxing World Champion

Respect. Chantal Ughi is the Thai Kick Boxing Female World Champion. I first met Chantal a couple of years ago when I was spending far too much time at Nublu on Avenue C in the East Village. Nublu was an amazing bar, full of characters and by far and away had more of the best professional musicians hanging out and playing there than any other bar I've been in. The Brazilian Girls started there when some friends began playing together for fun. Chantal used to work as the coat check girl and made videos on the side for Brazilian Girls and various other bands.

This picture was taken the day before yesterday on my rooftop in Little Italy. Chantal got in touch with me two days earlier through Facebook to let me know she was in town. We caught up after the Automatic Loveletter show and agreed that we would finally take some pictures, as we've talked about it for years now, but never had the time. She came around late in the afternoon, during a break in the rain. We went up on the roof and shot some pictures. This was one of them.

Chantal is a truly unique and inspiring over achiever. She was born from a French mother and an Italian father and grew up in Milan, Italy. She studied piano and violin from an early age. She then dropped music and started modeling in Paris, London, Madrid, Milan and Tokyo. She also pursued her passion for acting and photography by going to Acting School and taking photographs.

She moved to Rome and got her first acting role in 'Traveling Companion'  which was nominated @ the Cannes International Film Festival. She went on to appear in a large number of movies before studying Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and then moving to NYC, where she starred in the romantic comedy, 'Big Apple'. 

Once in NYC, as well as acting she started to focus more on her photography and also directed her first movie, 'La Mia Mano Destra' (My Right Hand) which won 'Best Short' at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. (Brooklyn has an International Film Festival??). Following the success she achieved with that, she made her first documentary, Voices Underground, on the NYC avant-garde music scene. Which is how she ended up at Nublu and singing with a variety of bands, including the Nublu Orchestra, Butch Morris's Chorus Of Poets and In Flagranti Live amongst others.

Tired of NYC, she moved to Thailand to make a documentary on Women Boxing in Chiang Mai jail, but got distracted by training in Muay Thai, which is the toughest of all the martial arts. These people use fists, elbows, feet and knees when they are fighting. (Full disclosure: Chantal and I first bonded because I had already photographed the Lanna Muay Thai Training Camp in Chiang Mai, where she was planning to base herself). In December of 2008, this 5'10" tall woman in her 30's became World Professional MuayThai Federation Champion in the 70Kg Division and in December 2009 she became World MuayThai Association World Champion in the 65 Kg Division. 

I am now waiting to see what this remarkable individual does next with her life. To see Chantal fight, check her on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCO3D6UENBE. To find out more or about Chantal or get in touch with her, check her myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/chantalughi. 

Today I am listening to the Brazilian Girls doing Jique in a video directed by Chantal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWLMQMJFyO8

Ken Hirai: The Japanese produce pop singers as well....

Ok. I know I didn't post a blog yesterday. I did write one on my friend Chantal Ughi, who went from being a model to World Champion Kick Boxer, but it got wiped when Firefox decided to crash and take my words into the ether along with it. And I didn't have time to re-write it as I had to go to B.B. Kings and photograph Ken Hirai perform at his 15th Anniversary of Ken's Bar. So if you want to read about Chantal, you'll have to come back tomorrow.

This picture was taken last night at B.B. Kings in Times Square. The club was full of adoring Japanese fans who were there to see Ken Hirai perform one of his extremely rare NYC shows. I'd never heard of Ken before I was asked to photograph him, but watched the DVD I was given by the lovely Keiko from SonyJapan, so that I could get some background on this unknown singer. Well, unknown to me. It turns out he's sold over 14,000,000 records in Japan and Asia.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Ken has a lovely voice and the fact that more than half his set was sung in Japanese made no difference to my enjoyment of his music. In fact, my lack of Japanese was disappointing more because I couldn't understand what he was saying between the songs, which seemed to be really amusing given the peals of laughter rolling around the club. I did catch that one of his tales was something about the first time he came to America and discovered that porn magazines in the decadent west aren't subject to the same kind of censorship as Japanese porn. For some reason they can never show a womans nether regions, which are always airbrushed with such an extreme soft focus that nothing at all is visible there.

Ken is playing at B.B. Kings again tonight. Don't let your lack of Japanese deter you from going. If you can get a ticket. Which is doubtful as this charismatic J-Pop performer sells out arena shows in Japan with an ease normally associated with bands like the Rolling Stones, so to see him somewhere as intimate as B.B. Kings is a rare treat. To find out more about Ken check his wiki entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hirai

Today I am listening to Ken Hirai singing 'Love, Love, Love' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZviVkAt7uv0&feature=related

Automatic Loveletter: Conquering from Clearwater

Last night I saw Juliet Simms and her brother Tommy of Automatic Loveletter play 6 songs at Angels & Kings, a small bar in the East Village. Even though Juliet was nursing a sore throat so couldn't speak before the show, from the moment they hit the stage I was transfixed. She's an incredible performer and Tommy is a superb guitarist and the two of them have a chemistry that only siblings can share.

This picture was taken on a Tuesday evening a couple of months ago on the beach at Clearwater in Florida. I'd flown down from NYC earlier that day to location scout for the all day shoot on Wednesday, but suggested to the band that we take pictures as well as location scout on Tuesday afternoon and they agreed. I arranged for make up artist Andie Sleeman (http://andiesleeman.com) to work Tuesday as well as Wednesday, so we could shoot when I arrived.

From Tampa airport I drove straight to Juliet's parents place where she was resting up for a couple of weeks. I found the band waiting for me and ready to go, as Andie had gotten there before me and already done their make up.

We all piled into the rental van and as soon as I pulled out of the driveway, I started looking for locations. Being a photographer looking for locations on a shoot can be similar to a carpenter who walks into a room looking at the way the doors and windows fit. You're looking for a background that will enhance the subject. For a long time I've believed that its possible to find 6 different locations within 50 meters of any given spot. Three minutes after we left the house I found the first location, a one storey pink panelled office building that housed a veterinarians surgery.

Juliet, Tommy, Ryan and Clint arranged themselves around my camera and I went to work. From that point on it all flowed well. We shot 6 looks in the next 5 hours around Clearwater, finishing up on the beach as the sun was going down. After we got back out of the water we went back to their house where I was fed a great meal by Juliet & Tommys v cool mother, Natalie. The following day we continued the shoot and did another 7 looks before heading back to their house and going through all the pictures. The band approved a ton of pictures. Everybody was happy.

Automatic Loveletter released their debut album, Truth Or Dare, on June 22nd 2010 and joined the Vans Warped tour in July, where they consistently got great reviews for their live shows. Juliet has been through the record company wringer for the last 4 years. She was bounced around the ineptitude of Epic Records for nearly 3 years, until ALL was dropped in 2008. But she didn't give up, she kept moving forwards.

RCA then picked up the band and put renewed faith and energy back under their wings. They recorded their album with Josh Abraham in the producers chair and now the album is doing really well and it looks like they are going to break out of the pack and achieve the success they deserve. I'm happy for them as they are bunch of great kids with cool attitude and a seriously hard work ethic. Listen out for them on your radio dial because they are already there. To find out more about them, check their myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/automaticloveletter

Today I'm listening to Automatic Loveletter doing Heart Song from the heart. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsONBKFbL-w

Birmingham: Razor Blades and Bull Rings

Following on from yesterdays post about Sharna, I thought I'd move onto my own background. I was born in Birmingham, England and grew up there at a time when it was still the center of the Car Manufacturing Industry. In essence, Birmingham is the Detroit of England.

I've been to Detroit and was shocked to see how little of it has been rebuilt after the riots of the 1960's. Birmingham had really serious riots in 1981 and 1985 in the 'black' area of Handsworth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_Handsworth_race_riots). It's been extensively rebuilt and it makes me wonder why the same was never done in Detroit. If anybody out there reading this can tell me, I'd be interested to know.

This picture of the Selfridges Department Store built in 2003 by Future Systems (http://www.future-systems.com/architecture/architecture_03.html) to replace the old Bull Ring Shopping Centre, was taken in 2004, on one of my few visits back to Birmingham since I left when I was 20 years old. The bird very fortuitously happened to fly through the picture at exactly the right moment.

It's funny that the city used to have a shopping mall called the Bull Ring, as there were times when it was as dangerous to step in there as it would to be to step into a real bull ring.

Birmingham is a tough town. It's where I learnt to never walk through underpasses late at night because if you do, you will probably get beaten up. It's also the place where they developed sowing razor blades into jacket lapels, so if somebody grabs you by the lapels in a fight, they will lose their fingers.

I left home when I was 17 and was sitting in a bar a couple of weeks later talking with two girls; one was really pretty and her friend was quite plain. The pretty girl was telling me I should go travelling around Europe, get some life experience and then come back to see her. Her friend disagreed and told me I should move to another city in the same country where I speak the same language and am used to the customs as it would make the transition away from the comfort zone of my friends easier.

Being 17 and stupid, the next morning I set off hitch hiking for the south of France with £14 in my pocket. I got as far as Paris, where I ended up living on the streets for a few weeks before crawling back to Birmingham with my tail very firmly between my legs. I've often thought the plain girl gave me some of the best advice I've had in my life and when I finally regained the courage leave Birmingham again 3 years later, I moved to Bristol. That was the beginning of my real travels. And a whole bunch of other stories, some of which will no doubt surface here over time.

Today I am listening to Ku Klux Klan by Steel Pulse the first reggae band from Handsworth to achieve success, as that was a serious soundtrack in the summer of 1977 http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1m34xdgEe4&feature=related

Sharna: Today is a very special day....

My daughter, Sharna (aka Sshh) was born on this day. She grew up in Australia and now lives in London with her boyfriend Zak; making music, creating art and writing a book. She is an extraordinarily talented individual and I watch her progress through life with great interest and pride in her achievements. Not pride because I made her this way, but pride because she has made herself this way.

She didn't have an easy childhood - her mother and I parted ways when she was very young and she ended up bouncing backwards and forwards between the two us. In total, she lived with me for 10 out of 20 years and the last time she came back to live with me, she was 14 and had teenage attitude to burn. Neither of us knew how to deal with it but in the end, we managed as parents and teenagers have for eons. Not very well.

She was going to a very average school at the top of a very steep hill close to our apartment and complained bitterly about having to climb that hill every morning. I would have done too if I was her. I was really surprised when one day towards the end of Year 10 she came and told me she wanted to go to Bradfield College Of The Arts for Years 11 and 12. I'd never heard of it and it turned out that it was on the other side of the city. I told her she could go but it would be up to her to make sure she got to college on time every day. To my amazement, she got up at 7.00am every day for the next 2 years and got to college on time to start classes at 9am and gained a lot of respect from me in the process. Don't get me wrong, she partied hard as most college students do, but she also got her work done.

The picture at the top of this page was taken in a warehouse in Surry Hills, an inner city suburb of Sydney. Sharna was working on her artwork for the end of college Art Show. She decided to paint the walls of this room in three coats of white paint and then draw outlines of her body in black on the walls. To keep the space looking consistent, she covered the floor in white parachute material and wore a white skirt with a black leather jacket.

Once she had completed the room, I photographed her there and she also photographed it herself. She then glued the photographs together with maps of places she'd lived and key phrases onto three large canvases, each about the size of an average door. Once the canvases were covered to her satisfaction, she then coated the canvases in an inch thick layer of wax and spray painted her outline on top. The whole process took her about 3-4 weeks
I was completely blown away by the finished triptych my 17 year old daughter had created when I saw it in her end of year Art Show and told her that I believed it would get in to Art Express, which is an exhibition of the best artwork produced by over 12,000 Senior High School/College Students in New South Wales at the end of Year 12.

The week of the Art Express announcement I was in Melbourne for a photo-shoot and flew back early so I could go to the opening. I was under the impression that it was happening early evening, as Art openings generally do. That morning I got a phone call from a friend of mine, Britt, who it turned out was working for Art Express. She told me I was mistaken and as the Art Opening had just started, we had to get down to the David Jones store in the center of the city asap because Sharna was needed there.

Sharna had stayed out at a friends and had quite a large night of it. I drove over, woke her up and we made our way to David Jones. It turned out that out of 12,000 students who were considered for Art Express, Sharna had won first prize. Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she collected a gift voucher worth $250 and her artwork was on display for the next 6 weeks in the window of David Jones, where it was seen by thousands of people every day.

She was subsequently accepted into the National Art School, where she developed a strong drawing technique and also got frustrated with the confines of art school. She moved to London to live with Zak about 4 years ago and I've watched her grow into a self assured, beautiful, smart and caring young woman.

It's been a real pleasure over the last couple of years to meet people who know her independently of me and who tell me how much they like and care about her. She holds herself well in all kinds of company and I have no doubt whatsoever that over the next couple of years she will gain the success she richly deserves. Even though I know she thinks I push her more than necessary to do more and better, (as that is part of my role as her Dad), I do believe she is a very talented writer, a superb artist and a great musician. She has a band with Zak called Penguins and you should listen out for them, because some time in the next year they will be on your radio.

When people find out that I have a daughter, they always ask me what she is like. For many years my response has been is that she is a unique individual in her own right. I am proud to be the parent of this extraordinary and gifted young woman.

Today I am listening to Jet Engines by Penguins, because it is my daughters music and today is her birthday. I wish we were in the same city so I could take her for lunch and tell her in person how I feel about her. http://www.myspace.com/heypenguins

Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett: From Pop Charts to Politics

Peter Garrett was the singer with Midnight Oil from 1973 to 2002, when he informed the band that he was leaving to join the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and go into politics full time. It was a controversial decision as for many years he had been aligned with the Green movement and many people felt he had betrayed his ideological roots by joining one of the mainstream political parties. There were others who felt he made the right decision because he subsequently got his hands on the levers of power. He was elected to the Federal Parliament in 2004 and when the ALP won power in 2007, he was appointed Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Garrett)
This picture was taken when the Minister was still a Musician. I worked with Midnight Oil for about 5 years and stopped working with them about 6 months before they broke up. They are the only band I have refused to work with any longer. Not because they were dicks. Far from it. Every one of them is a gentleman and had and still has my total respect and support for whatever they do.  I feel honored and grateful to have known these particular individuals and am now happy to count them amongst my friends.

I finally reached a point where I could no longer deal with their legendary sixth member, their manager, Gary Morris. I like and respect Gary on a personal level, but doing business with him could be total hell. A remarkably strong willed character, he genuinely believed that everything he did was in the best interests of his band, but he wasn't always right. And after 5 years of fighting with him, he finally pushed me too far and I pulled the plug. I remember going down to the band rehearsal studios to tell them personally that we would no longer be working together and Peter saying that Gary and I had been in conflict for years and we would make up and get past this bump in the road. But we never did and the band broke up 6 months later.

But I digress. The reason for this post is that there was a general election in Australia today. And even though I now live in NYC, I still followed it with interest. Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was in the Labor corner and Tony Abbott was fighting for the Liberals. For the Americans who read this, the ALP is equivalent to the Democrats and the Liberal/National Coalition is equivalent to the Republicans. And Tony Abbott is somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan.

A long time head kicker within the party, he ascended to the leadership through lack of any alternatives as the Liberals were in disarray for the last 3 years after being decimated at the last election. They held power for 11 years under John Howard and were so reviled by the 2007 election that Howard lost his seat, the first sitting Prime Minister to do so since 1929.

And so in 2007 the ALP came out of the political wilderness under the leadership of Kevin Rudd. One of the few leaders in the world who can speak Mandarin. He managed to stave off the economic collapse suffered by the rest of the world over the last couple of years and keep Australia's economy reasonably buoyant. But he broke some fundamental electoral promises and fell out of favour with the electorate. Two months ago the ALP panicked, decided to dump him as leader and install Julia Gillard in his place.

Which brings us up to date. Australia now has a hung Parliament. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7957876/Australian-election-delivers-hung-parliament.html) They are still counting postal votes, but neither party has an absolute majority and they are both busy courting the four independents who hold the balance of power. Peter Garrett did get back in and has said he will be staying in politics even if the ALP does not retain power (http://southern-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/peter-garrett-wins-seat-of-kingsford-smith/). If Tony Abbott gets in, I will not be returning for a while.

Today I am listening to Blue Sky Mine by Midnight Oil as a reminder of the choices and compromises people can make to survive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofrqm6-LCqs

Bob Marley's hidden legacy - Ky-Mani Marley writes a book...

Last night I met Bob Marley's son. Well, I should actually say I met one of Bob Marley's sons. In fact, his tenth son. I wonder if there is some kind of mythology surrounding the tenth son in the way that the seventh child is supposed to have some kind mystical power. Anyway, I digress.
This picture of Ky-Mani Marley was taken last night at Le Grand Dakar, an African restaurant in the depths of Brooklyn. Ky-Mani was signing copies of his book 'Dear Dad' and singing songs. Some of which were very cool. He does sound a little like his Dad, but that's not such a bad thing. The loudest cheer of the night was reserved for his version of 'Crazy Baldhead', one of his Dad's truly great anthems against oppression.

I've known children of famous people and noticed a while ago that position can carry its own burdens. Ky-Mani carried himself better than most - he was very sweet and gracious with all the people who crowded into the restaurant to see the 'Son Of Marley'. He didn't seem to mind the people pushing their way next to him so their friends could take pictures. He smiled and spoke softly to everyone who wanted a word from a member of the mighty Marley clan.

The thing is, Ky-Mani was not really regarded as one of the clan by the other family members for quite a long time. One would think that having the Marley surname meant that he grew up in wealth and comfort. However, this is not the case with this particular Marley.

One of the illegitimate children, his book talks about the bitter in-fighting within the Marley Family and also charts the redemptive story of his growth from the violent projects of Miami to receiving the Global Humanitarian Award in Monaco last year for his work with L.O.A.F. (Love All Over Foundation) (http://www.loveoverall.org/), which he founded in 2008 to work with youth in low socioeconomic communities. Big respect. To find out more about Ky-Mani, check him on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kymanimarley

If you live in NYC and you are around this evening, go to Brooklyn Children's Museum (http://www.brooklynkids.org/) and check him out at 6.30pm as he will be giving another performance and signing copies of his book. And no doubt accepting with good humour the hugs and happiness of all the people who will want to have their picture taken with him. He is definitely one of the good people.

Today, inspired by Ky-Mani, I am listening to Bob Marley singing 'Crazy Baldhead' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k34boxNrqL8&feature=search

Jeff Fenech: World Boxing Champion in 3 Divisions

Jeff Fenech, known as the 'Marrickville Mauler', is a retired Australian boxer and three time World Champion who is now a boxing trainer in Sydney. He represented Australia at the 1984 Olympics, was IBF Bantamweight Champion from 1985 to 1987, WBC Super Bantamweight Champion from 1987 to 1988 and WBC Super Bantamweight Champion from 1988 to 1989.To find out more about this remarkable individual check his wiki entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Fenech .

This picture was taken at his gym in Marrickville. I had just been in the ring with him shooting over the shoulder of his trainer as they were sparring. It was interesting experience to be almost on the receiving end of a serious beating from a World Champion.

At the time of this shoot, he was attempting a comeback and so it made sense to have him boxing himself in the mirror as he had to overcome himself and his own limitations to try and become a genuine contender again. Inside Sport magazine was very happy with my idea and ran the picture as a double page.

In honour of boxers and what they have to do for a living, today I am listening to The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKjEHfHINQ&feature=related

Mosh Pit Memories Pt 2 - Grinspoon And The Wheelchair Surfer at Homebake

As mentioned yesterday, being a photographer at a show can definitely have its benefits. For me, seeing this guy surfing the crowd in his wheelchair ranks as one of the great moments in music.

This picture was taken at Homebake in Sydney, a music festival which only allows Australian artists to play (or Kiwis, aka honorary Australians from New Zealand). To find out more about the annual Homebake Festival, check the Wiki page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebake

Grinspoon were in the midst of their show when they spotted the Wheelchair Surfer and Phil, the Grinspoon singer, invited him to watch the rest of their show from the side of stage.

Grinspoon have since become one of Australia's biggest bands, but at the time they were promoting their second album, Easy. I took the picture of the band that graced the inside cover of the album. A friend of mine was working with them at the time but quit when he realised that one of the songs on the album was about him and was unnecessarily detrimental.

Today I am listening to 'Rock Show' from Easy by Grinspoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4vkG0pzS_U

Limp Bizkit: Losers in Mosh Pit Memories

Having worked as a music photographer for over 20 years, I have been in more than a few mosh pits. Or rather, I should say, I have been in front of a few mosh pits. Photographers are regarded as lucky because they get to be down the front in the narrow area between stage and mosh.

Sometimes, it is lucky to be down there. Great views of a great show. And sometimes it's just dangerous and crazy down there. This was the most dangerous and the craziest show I've ever attended. Fifteen year old Jessica Michalik died on this day.

This picture was taken on 26th January 2001 at the Big Day Out in Sydney. A loss of life and a loss of innocence. Half way through Limp Bizkit’s second song, the crowd was obviously out of control and security personnel were becoming seriously concerned with the pressure being placed on the barrier in front of the stage.

One of the yellow shirted security guards asked me, a photographer, to tell the band to stop playing. I told him that he should do so himself, as he was wearing the yellow shirt and the band would be more likely to listen to him.

After hesitating for a minute, the security guard jumped up onto the camera platform in front of the stage and waved his arms at Fred Durst, asking him to stop. I took this picture as Fred Durst ignored him and carried on singing. The security guard was then hustled off the platform by two members of Limp Bizkits’ personal bodyguard detail.

The band played on even though the war zone continued to develop in the mosh pit. I went to one of the bodyguards who'd hustled the security guard off stage and told him that it was obvious local security were concerned for the safety of the fans, which was why the guard had tried stopping the show. The bodyguard then went and talked to the head of front of stage security, who then called head of production on his radio.

Once the band had finished their song, they continued to play quietly in the background for at least another 5-10 minutes as lead singer Fred Durst asked the audience to step back and help people who had fallen. Someone in the audience abused Fred Durst and they started to argue. I was so angry with Dursts behaviour I called out for them to stop playing entirely (as the Red Hot Chili Peppers had done when a similar incident happened at last years BDO). The photographers were then hustled away from the front of stage area.

People were falling over in exhaustion and being carried into the first aid area, where St. Johns Ambulance crew were tending to them. A photographer from local daily newspaper The Daily Telegraph was getting in people's faces trying to get pictures. A guy he was attempting to photograph turned and tried punching him out. The photographer was dragged off by crew members and was last seen talking to police.

This picture ended up being used as evidence at the Official Inquest, where I also gave evidence and was questioned by various attorneys. In my opinion, Fred Durst should have been forced to appear in front of the court. But he didn't. He appeared via a video link up.

At the end of the day, the Coroner laid blame for Jessica's death at the feet of the Big Day Out Promoters, but also took a serious swipe at Limp Bizkit. Senior deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge said that Durst could have taken the situation more seriously, with his comments on stage during the attempt to rescue Michalik were "alarming and inflammatory". To see more about this tragic day check the Wiki page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Michalik#Mosh_pit_death

For me, I was there on the day and this picture really tells more than a thousand words.

Apparently Limp Bizkit have reformed and are about to tour again. I only have one word.

Why?

Today I am listening to The Beatles 'Help' in honour of Jessica Michalik: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7JjJJZi1Q

Bentley Rhythm Ace (aka BRA) and a Babe on Bondi Beach

Mike Stokes and Richard March (who used to play with Pop Will Eat Itself), both come from Birmingham (my home town) and formed BRA in 1995. Part of the Big Beat movement along with Chemical Brothers and Fat Boy Slim, their first album was released in 1997 and did extremely well all over the world. Their second album (For Your Ears Only) faltered and they broke up in 2000.

This picture was taken on Bondi Beach not long before For Your Ears Only was released and we set it up as a deliberate pastiche on a Bond moment.

The girl in the foreground was a 'close friend' of one of the boys and volunteered enthusiastically for the role of 'legs and...' in the picture. Mike and Richard had a great sense of humour which always came out to play in front of the camera (watch the video linked at the bottom of the page).

In 2009 BRA reformed and managed by Cut La Roc they signed to Rocstar Records. Unfortunately their Myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/bentleyrhythmace) doesn't include any relevant or currant information about a proposed tour mentioned on their Wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Rhythm_Ace). However, their Facebook page does. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bentley-Rhythm-Ace/272133701969)

Today I am listening to Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out, the first single from BRA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IWl77o3l50

Stand Fast: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Carl Charlson & Ron Brawer Gimme Some Truth

Carl Charlson has been making movies and documentaries since the 1960's. I met him last night at the after party for 'Stand Fast', a very cool play written by a friend of mine, Ron Brawer. 'Stand Fast' is a political satire currently showing in the New York International Fringe Festival and highlights the dangers when political expediency comes up against military ambition and stupidity. Check it here http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/listing_fnyc.php?t=10677 and if you live in NYC, go down and see it in the next week.

I took this picture today as Carl told me last night that he retired to Boston a while ago, but appears to be experiencing something of a resurgence and so needs a current picture for promotional purposes. Amongst other things, it seems the Broadcast Museum is interested in showing a mini documentary about John Lennon & Yoko Ono that he shot over the course of a week when they did their famous 'Bed-In' at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal during May 1969. To find out more about what their aims were check the Wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed-In

Carl is erudite, charming and quite pleased to see that at this late point in life he is getting recognition for the work he has done over the years. Lets hope this happens to more of us.

To honor the need for more of us to fight against political expediency and for Carl's good works, today I am listening to Gimme Some Truth by the ever relevant John Lennon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzrNKN3rZI&feature=related

Fun Lovin' Criminals - Pre-Show Shoot - Never again...

Fun Lovin' Criminals released their first album, 'Come Find Yourself' in 1995 and their latest, 'Classic Fantastic', a few months ago. In between they changed drummers several times, developed alternative careers (Huey is now a regular on radio and TV in the UK) and had their greatest success in the UK and northern Europe. Even though many of their songs revolve around their home city of New York City, they've never gained the recognition and respect they've deserved in their homeland.

This picture was taken just before they walked on stage. On the other side of the door were 2000 fans who were growing increasingly impatient as the band were already over an hour late. We were supposed to have done pictures earlier, but their manager had told me the best time to get them all in the same place was just before they went on stage as they'd be dressed up and ready to go.

The reality was something quite different. They'd been busy in their dressing room drinking and smoking and in many ways, the last thing they wanted to do was a photo shoot. Huey was still smoking and trying to get the last of it before going out on stage. If I can avoid it, I'll never do something like this again. The pressure was intense and I didn't appreciate the knowledge that I was holding up the band from getting on stage when they were already running that late. They were gracious, if a little nonplussed and Huey invited me to go out on stage with them, but I declined his kind offer. They put on a great show and afterwards partied on just as hard as before the show. To find out more about this very cool band check them out at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_Lovin%27_Criminals

Today I'm listening to Fun Lovin' Criminals playing the title track from their latest album, 'Classic Fantastic'. http://vodpod.com/watch/3297860-youtube-fun-lovin-criminals-classic-fantastic-official-video

Marianne Faithfull - The Survivor

Marianne Faithfull has been around a long time. She started as a folk singer in 1964 before she met Andrew Loog Oldham at a Rolling Stones launch party who turned her into a pop star. She went on to become Mick Jagger's girlfriend in the late 60's, lived on the streets as a junkie in the 70's and released the classic album Broken English in 1979.

This picture was taken in a hotel room at Bondi Beach in Sydney. I found her to be charming and gracious. She was staying with friends in Bondi and the next day I went around to show her the pictures I'd taken. She was relaxing in a pair of pyjamas but her boyfriend/manager had obviously been hitting the bottle hard as he was completely tanked. I felt sorry for her as it seemed she was very cool but had once again made a bad man choice in her life. To see more about the mighty Marianne check her Wiki entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Faithfull

Today I am listening to the seriously twisted 'Why D'ya Do It' from Broken English by Marianne Faithfull. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mvAMEaWgTQ

Thievery Corporation & Pre-Show Rituals

I first met Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, the two main men behind Thievery Corporation, in October 2004 when they were in Sydney to do some promotion. We did a photo-shoot and got on so well that when I moved to America, Rob asked me to shoot the pictures for his solo album and we became good friends. When Thievery did their next album, the mighty 'Radio Retaliation', Rob & Eric invited me to come down to Washington DC and do all the pictures to help them promote it.

This picture was taken in January 2010, before one of the 5 shows they played at the 5.30 Club in Washington DC. When they perform live, there can be up to 18 people on stage and every night before the show, they all gather in one of the dressings rooms, sing together and join hands to bond as a band. This pre-show ritual is common to many bands, but because there are so many members of the Thievery touring band and they come from so many parts of the world, the energy generated in the air is joyously palpable. All of the touring band members carry themselves as good people and its been a genuine pleasure getting to know them.

Eric and Rob have created an inspiring organization. They have been entirely independent since they first started as DJ's in 1995 and established their record label, ESL Music, in 1996. They record everything themselves and then strike independent distribution deals with record companies around the world. Which means they get to keep the majority of the income from their record sales, unlike bands signed to major labels. Lots of todays bands would do well to look at the example they set. They also use the platform their success has given them to promote constructive political solutions. You can find out more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thievery_Corporation and http://www.thieverycorporation.com/ (The picture on their homepage is one of mine)

And Rob and his lovely lady Charisse have just had a baby....so I wish them all joy and happiness..... :)

Today I am listening to Thievery Corporation doing Radio Retaliation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFMUSDnkUYo

Reportage & Social Responsibility: A Dying Art?

This picture was taken early one morning during the 2000 Olympics at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Victoria Park, which was set up to protest the lack of Land Rights in Australia. A little known fact is that when Cook landed in Australia in 1788 he declared Australia to be 'Terra Nullius' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius#History_in_Australia), essentially depriving the Aboriginal population of sovereignty.

To my amazement no publication in Australia would touch my pictures. There was a veil of silence drawn over the Tent Embassy by the Australian media and to my knowledge no magazine in Australia ever ran a story on it. The only journalists and photographers present were from international publications.

I am inspired to post one of the pictures from this photo essay today after watching My Asian Heart, a documentary about my remarkable friend Phil Blenksinsop. (I am not in the habit of posting download links, and apologies to film maker David Bradbury for doing so, but you can download it here http://www.megaupload.com/?d=35WW3MFJ).

I met Phil when I worked for The Australian in Sydney in 1988. We both left at the end of that year when I went up north to go 'bush' and he moved to Bangkok where he has been based for the last 20 years and ultimately become recognized as one of the greatest photo-journalists of his generation.

He always pushed me to take better pictures and has a sense of social responsibility that puts 99.99% of the rest of us to shame. His pictures are sometimes hard to look at, but always tell the truth and when I decided to spend the 2000 Olympics at the Tent Embassy in Sydney I definitely had Phil in mind. To see his work, check out his images at Noor Images, the Photo Agency he helped establish a few years ago http://www.noorimages.com/photographers/philipblenkinsop/showcase/

And today, in honor of the ongoing Aboriginal situation, I am listening to Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrjv2lc7Vx4&feature=related

Beasts Of Bourbon - Drink or Treat?

The Beasts Of Bourbon are genuine rock n roll legends. It doesn't matter that if you live outside Australia you probably haven't heard of them. In fact most people within Australia haven't heard of them either. But like I said, the lack of mainstream awareness makes no difference to the reality of their status.

Formed in 1983 by singer Tex Perkins, the Beasts have had a fluctuating line up over the years as most members have had full time gigs with other bands and the Beasts have been a side project for them. More than a few of them have overdosed, been in jail and had serious drug and/or alcohol habits. Taking their influences from garage, blues and country with a healthy dose of the Stooges on the side, they are the dark and dirty end of an alleyway which has Nick Cave standing in the light at the posh end. They are the most sonically violent band I've seen, akin to being smashed over the head with a broken guitar by a drunk punk who wants to dance on your head so he can see the world better.

They've broken up numerous times over the years and in 2006 reformed to help bass player Brian Hooper pay his medical bills after he broke his back falling off stage. After playing on the Big Day Out tour, they spent 3 days in Melbourne winter recording and mixing the superb 'Little Animals', their first album in almost 10 years. Albert Records, home to AC/DC signed them and released it to universal acclaim. And the Beasts then toured the world to promote it.

This picture was taken in 2007 at the tiny Union Pool in Brooklyn with about 100 people in attendance. I invited a friend of mine, Brett Hammond, to come and see them. He's an amazing guitarist who's been playing been professionally for over 25 years. He told me that gig changed his life. He'd never seen anything like it.

Beasts (cowboy hat wearing) guitarist Spencer Jones lost his passport later that night whilst out on a bender somewhere in the bowels of the Lower East Side. The band abandoned him in NYC and he ended up sleeping on my couch whilst he waited for the replacement. Three days later I shovelled him into a taxi for JFK and hoped he'd make it home to Melbourne. He did.

Today I'm listening to the Beasts doing Psycho, their first single. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy9oLsN5qzk&feature=related

Metropolis Pt 3 - Little Italy snowstorm....

Well...following on from the last couple of posts, I thought I should show the view from my window....and as it is baking hot outside, it seemed like a good time to show cooler times....

This is the view from my window...certainly no mistaking that it is Little Italy and I am living in NYC....although obviously it is considerably warmer than that right now....I have the window wide open and during summer the street is closed to traffic over the weekend, so its nice and peaceful out there...just the sounds of tourists milling around getting shilled by the hawkers outside the restaurants...and for some reason, the regular band that insists on stomping up and down the streets playing the Godfather Theme seem to have been replaced by the Hare Krishna's wandering down the street chanting every day...

and today I am listening to the mighty Lee Dorsey doing 'Yes, We Can (Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcnEnElRLuk

Metropolis Pt 2 - Victor Calderone

As I waxed so eloquently yesterday about the the photoshoot I did with Victor Calderone, I thought it only fair to post one of the pictures from that shoot:

This image was the reason we ended up doing the shoot together. His album was called 'Evolve' and so when we met I suggested he have water running down his face, making it appear like he was coming out of some kind of evolutionary swamp. He was a sweet guy and got really excited about the idea and booked me for the job.

Once I showed up at his apartment (see yesterday's pic) to do the actual shoot, he got cold feet and told me he didn't want to do that particular part of the shoot any more. I was disappointed and told him that it would be the strongest picture of the day, but carried on and did the other pictures we had agreed upon. His wife and child were also present and so as the shoot progressed I asked his wife to encourage him to do this particular set up and when we had finished everything else, I asked him if he would give me 5 minutes in the shower so I could do these pictures as I was here anyway and it was what we had originally agreed to do together. His wife chipped in as well and he finally agreed to stand semi naked in his shower with a stranger taking pictures of him. And was subsequently happy he had done so as it was one of these images that he used on the cover of the 'Evolve' album.

And today I am listening to T.B. Sheets, the greatest song ever recorded by Van Morrison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZkxH_OoIc

The reality of living in Metropolis

This picture was taken in the middle of a photo-shoot I did with the DJ Victor Calderone. As independent musicians tend to, he told me he really didn't have very much money for a photo-shoot and so I agreed to be reasonable in my budgeting for the shoot. Very reasonable considering he used one of my pictures from the shoot for an album cover. I realized that I had been far too reasonable when I went to his apartment in Dumbo (yes, for all those people who do not live in the Metropolis,  there is a place in Brooklyn called Dumbo) to do the pictures and saw that my entire apartment would probably fit in his bedroom. And this was the view from his balcony:

He has the kind of apartment you think everybody lives in before you move to NYC. The kind of place shown on movies and on TV. It's an unfortunate, but true fact, that most people here actually live in shoeboxes big enough for a bed and not much else. I am lucky that I live in what I used to think was a shoebox when I first moved here, but I now realize is a mansion compared to the way most people live here. I have a 2 b/r apartment in Little Italy with a corner office looking down on the ever bustling Mulberry St. This is not some generic place that could be anywhere. There is a building opposite my corner window painted in the colors of the Italian flag. There is definitely no mistaking I live in New York City. And my entire apartment would still fit in Victor Calderone's bedroom. I wish I lived in his place. Apart from the fact that I would then have to live in Brooklyn and not Manhattan.

And today I am listening to the amazing 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know' by Tina Britt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhf2hgKJRVQ

MORE Propaganda introduces....The Shoestrung

So, I've planned blogs before and even maintained a couple for brief periods of time, but this time the idea is that I am going to post a new picture here every day and probably write some kind of comment to go along with it. 

This picture of The Shoestrung was taken last year during CMJ here in NYC. They had just walked off stage at BB Kings where they'd played a blistering set of early 60's r&b supporting Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. I wandered around looking for a suitable location when I found this staff locker room, so got the boys in there and as they were still high from coming off stage after a great show, they were in a boisterous mood, which this image captures.

The Shoestrung are a London based band who sound like they grew up listening to early 60's Stones, Animals and Small Faces. The last time I saw a band with this kind of impact was when I saw Jet play their first Sydney show to 30 people, 20 of whom were music industry professionals. If you get a chance, go and see this band. They are destined for greatness. Check them on http://www.myspace.com/theshoestrung