This slide show is from The Builders and The Butchers record release at the wonder ballroom in PDX with Loch Lomond & Ah Holly Fam’ly.

Check out the entire review right here…

ok so here’s the second and a half installment of music ramblings. i started it a looooooong time ago (about a month an a half ago) but things have gotten rather busy ’round these parts.

hey better late than never, right? in this edition: those darlins, hacienda and dan auerbach

those darlins:
in other words: ” The best pop groups create their own universe, and make up their own ways of playing music and dealing with the big, bad world outside. Those Darlins are a pop group, if they are any one thing, which doesn’t mean anybody with ears can’t hear the country and rock ‘n’ roll in their sound and stance. Or maybe this trio of young women (early twenties, although no one’s telling exactly), who live a long stone’s throw from Nashville, Tennessee in the college town of Murfreesboro, are punks straight out of London or Cleveland, 1977.”

my take: country-pop punks… best way to describe this band. the girls and they dapper drummer put on fun, blistering set and it was just what i needed to hear after tussling with security over getting my camera in.

check out: drivin’ nails in my coffin, snaggle tooth mama

hacienda:
in other words: “There is something to get excited about in south-central Texas. In fact the buzz surrounding San Antonio‘s Hacienda may signal a rebirth of young rock n’ roll -with emphasis on the “roll”- to the country’s landscape. Formed by cousins Abraham Villanueva (piano/vocals) and Dante Schwebel (guitar/vocals), together with Abraham’s brothers Jaime (drums/vocals) and Rene Villanueva (bass/vocals), this Mexican-American quartet blends a raw yet sophisticated style of pop music with harmonies reminiscent of the Beatles and Beach Boys.”

my take: there’s no doubt these guys are talented musicians (and visually entertaining too) but none of their stuff really stuck out to me. they were a fantastic backing band for dan auerbach though.

check out: she’s got a hold on me, shake ya

dan auerbach:
in other words: The Black Keys’ singer-guitarist releases his self-produced solo debut, mixing, he says, “psychedelia, soul music, loud and soft guitars.” Backed by a full band, he prowls the dark end of the street, with gritty, impassioned vocals lending drama to tales of romantic betrayal and suspicious minds.

my take: if you’re a fan of music with grit and soul (think A3 from the sopranos soundtrack) then click as quickly as you can and download this album (keep it hid). it was on steady rotation for good few weeks (that’s a feat, trust me) and i still find myself using it as a motivational tool to get things done. throw in as stirring a tune as i’ve heard in a long time (trouble weighs a ton) and i’m buying this album twice.

check out: trouble weighs a ton, i want some more, the prowl, my last mistake, mean monsoon

again, just buy the album and get it over with…

using all the social medianess i can muster (including twitter, facebook pages, facebook ads, blip.fm, ning and the oldest form of social media, rubbin’ shoulders with people) this new venture has proved not only a viable creative outlet for me, but a fun exercise in practicing what i preach as a righteous route for clients.

about the site:
photography, for me, is about capturing a significant moment. one that speaks volumes about what it was like to be present at that particular instant.

a live performance (be it musical or otherwise) is filled with these moments. split seconds that build on each other to construct the arc of the whole event.

it doesn’t seem possible that one element or person would be able to tell that story completely. you’ll see a lot of pictures from me that don’t concentrate on the performer’s faces, but instead their shoes, hands, instruments, pedals, and lists… all parts of the whole

i just love doing this and what’s better than doing what you love?

**update**
after a steady push on the variety of social networks listed above, about a month and a half of effort has translated into being in talks to shoot for an online music mag and possibilities ranging from an exhibit to a residency at a local music hall.

roles: concept, design, photography, production, social media, strategy

< rant >

as part of my ongoing love affair with the live music scene in portland (and as part of furthering portlandconcertphotography.com), i hit up the dan auerbach show @ the wonder ballroom last night.

i called ahead to make sure i was going to be good to get my camera in. kristin was kind enough to tell me she hadn’t heard of any restricting policies from dan auerbach and they let the artist determine the camera policy. she said she’d call me back if she heard different, i never heard back so i headed over giddy as a school girl.

seeing as i though i had nothing to hide i didn’t try to smuggle in my 5D. i actually got past the doorman before he called me back and stopped me, saying i couldn’t enter with my camera. anything with a detachable lens was considered professional and wouldn’t be allowed in.

i’ve heard this rap before, so i asked to talk to a manager, hoping against hope it would make a difference.

it didn’t.

he immediately picked up for his doorman and they both denied even knowing who kristin was. frustrated i asked him what dan auerbach’s camera policy was and he replied “no professional cameras” and when i pressed for details he explained “no cameras with detachable lenses. it’s a industry standard in this business.”

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dear industry,

if you’re concerned about people taking your intellectual property and posting all over the internet you’re failing miserably. essentially what you’re doing is degrading the quality of free publicity for you and your talent. why wouldn’t you want as much free quality material out there about your product? this is the new world and it’s time to wake up and embrace it. the public, now more than ever, will make or break your image.

not to mention you’re not allowing me to go in with my still camera and take quality pictures, but you’re allowing dudes like the two above to record entire songs in HD and then post them all over the internet. doesn’t this seem the least bit whack to you?

stop basing policies on technological specifications from 1990. times have changed and you’re lagging behind miserably.

love and kisses,
steve

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< /rant >