In the studio & on location with SKELETONWITCH.

Skeletonwitch
Skeletonwitch
Skeletonwitch
Skeletonwitch
Skeletonwitch

This was a fun shoot – Prosthetic Records wanted some photos to commemorate the addition of Adam Clemans to the Skeletonwitch line-up, and they were in town recording with Kevin Bernsten of Developing Nations, so we did a quick session. They ended up needing to shoot a live video of them in the studio as well, so I helped out with that also, so some of my footage ended up in this:

Great day and what a great bunch of guys!

Skeletonwitch in the studio
Skeletonwitch in the studio
Skeletonwitch in the studio

SEE ALL THE SKELETONWITCH PHOTOS HERE

TRNSGNDR/VHS at the Walters Art Museum.

Transgender/VHS @ Walters Art Museum
Transgender/VHS @ Walters Art Museum
Transgender/VHS @ Walters Art Museum
Transgender/VHS @ Walters Art Museum

A little while back, I photographed Baltimore musician and artist TRNSGNDR/VHS at a special performance at the Walters Art Museum. It was part of the Art/Sound/Now series, which brings in artists to do site-specific performances in the Walters’ space. Quite an experience, it was interesting to see the crowd move in and out of the space full of classical works, while listening to Alexandra’s very contemporary piece.

READ THE ARTICLE ON BANDCAMP | SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

We also did a quick portrait session before the show, and I like how some of the shots turned out…

Transgender/VHS
Transgender/VHS

Baltimore Free Ball (Vogue Dancing for HIV Awareness).

2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball
2016 Baltimore Vogue Ball

I recently got a chance to tag along to Baltimore’s annual Free Ball – a vogue dancing event that supports HIV awareness and testing among the city’s LGBT community. It’s a fun event that engages the Vogue community by hosting a free contest, but to enter you have to get tested, and there are a lot of various health resources on site, seems like a great and surprisingly “with it” city-funded event. For more information on Vogue dancing and this event, you can read this article about last year’s event.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE 2016 BALL HERE

Noisem photo shoot.

NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM
NOISEM

I love this band. One of the brightest spots on the Maryland heavy music scene, and a bunch of really awesome dudes as well. It’s been super cool to watch their careers rise, and it’s totally deserved as their records rip (and each one is better and more nuanced than the last). Always fun to hang out and take photos for a couple of hours with this crew, and I think this set shows it.

VIEW THE WHOLE PHOTO SHOOT HERE | Noisem Bandcamp

Prurient & Chelsea Wolfe.

Prurient.
Prurient.
Prurient.
Prurient.
Prurient.

Been sitting on some older photos from Hopscotch Music Festival 2015. Hopscotch is one of my favorite music fests, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The close proximity of all the venues and the great staff and locals make it a super fun time, year after year… here are some photos of Prurient, one of the more famous noise artists. He played in the big opera house venue in downtown Raleigh, an odd setting for this performance, perhaps, but it was cool to see him there. I noticed the various ushers and staff of the venue shaking their heads in confusion – I assume they normally don’t host this kind of show there.

Chelsea Wolfe.
Chelsea Wolfe.
Chelsea Wolfe.

Right after this, at another venue, I got to check out Chelsea Wolfe, who I’d been waiting to see for quite awhile – great performance (with a guest appearance from Mike Sullivan from Russian Circles, pictured above). Her album Apokalypsis is one of my favorites, highly recommended!

SEE ALL MY HOPSCOTCH 2015 PHOTOS HERE

Carcass & Crowbar @ Baltimore Soundstage

CARCASS @ Baltimore Soundstage
CARCASS @ Baltimore Soundstage
CARCASS @ Baltimore Soundstage
CARCASS

CROWBAR @ Baltimore Soundstage
CROWBAR @ Baltimore Soundstage
CROWBAR

Another catch-up post! Two classic metal bands who have been touring a lot lately, it was good to catch them at Soundstage, though, one of my favorite places to see shows these days. Crowbar really put on a good show this evening, was stoked since there were issues with their MDF set the last time I saw them in Baltimore. Great band. Carcass is a band I never expected to be touring again like this, and each time could be the last time seeing them so I was super stoked to catch them again as well… right now feels like the best time to be seeing heavy bands play since the late 90s or early 00s.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE

LISTEN: Carcass | Crowbar

Pure Junk @ Ottobar (plus a cool GIF)

PURE JUNK @ the Ottobar, 2015.
PURE JUNK @ the Ottobar, 2015.
PURE JUNK @ the Ottobar, 2015.
PURE JUNK @ the Ottobar, 2015.
PURE JUNK @ the Ottobar, 2015.

Digging through the stacks on this Thanksgiving eve and finding lots of old gems I haven’t posted. Here are some photos of my pals PURE JUNK from last year, playing a show at the Ottobar. Perhaps opening for Fred & Toody of Dead Moon? This was a fun night. Look for more posts soon (I always say that, but for real this time).


Also, this GIF
!!!

SEE ALL MY PURE JUNK PHOTOS (EVER) HERE | Pure Junk

Best of 2015.

Every year I try and post a “Best Of” the year. It’s a good exercise, looking through all your work for the previous year and can only help you going forward. When I started, I would get them done in late december or early January. The last few years… it’s been more like the middle of the next year. 2015’s list is no exception! I started with a big list of photos I liked, then narrowed it down to a smaller list of photos. Maybe next year these won’t show up until 2018. Here are my final picks for 2015, in no particular order:

Matmos
Matmos

Future Islands @ FI1000
Sam Herring of Future Islands

Government Issue @ the Ottobar
John Stabb of Government Issue

Pig Destroyer @ AU 2015-04-25
Pig Destroyer fan

Baltimore March 5-01-2015
Baltimore March 5-01-2015
Freddie Gray marches

BROS Sixpack 2015
BROS

Exodus @ Housecore 2015
Exodus fans

Ryan Harvey & Son of Nun - Firebrand Records
Ryan Harvey & Son of Nun

Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon

Pins - Unfest 4
Pins

Tame Impala @ Echostage
Tame Impala

Dope Body @ The Compound
Dope Body

Monarch Novelties, DC.
Monarch Novelties, DC

Pharmakon @ Metro Gallery
Pharmakon

Marilyn Manson @ Fillmore Silver Spring
Marilyn Manson

Dope Body: 8 years in photos.

dope body @ whartscape 2010.

Baltimore band Dope Body played their last show this past Saturday. I’ve been following their creative output for years, having met Andrew, the vocalist years ago at Sonar and quickly became a fan of their wild live performances, as well as their sound which developed from album to album. A great group of guys who managed to capture a specific and primal sound with their band and also build a devoted following in the area. Sad to see them go, excited to see what they all come up with next. Here are some of my favorite photos of the band I’ve taken over the years, both live shots as well as band photos. UPDATE: City Paper published these as a gallery!

Dope Body @ whartscape 2010.
Dope Body
Dope Body @ SXSW 2012
Dope Body @ SXSW 2012
DopeBody @ Scapescape 2012
Dope Body @ GW
Dope Body @ GW
Dope Body @ Scapescape
Dope Body @ GW
Dope Body @ GW
Dope Body @ SXSW 2012
Dope Body @ Fraziers
Dope Body @ Fraziers
Dope Body
Dope Body @ Fraziers
dope body.
Dope Body @ The Compound
Dope Body @ The Compound
Dope Body
Dope Body @ The Compound
Dope Body @ The Compound
Dope Body's last show @ the Floristree
Dope Body's last show @ the Floristree
Dope Body's last show @ the Floristree

SEE ALL MY DOPE BODY PHOTOS HERE

Esperanza Spalding @ 9:30 Club

Esperanza Spalding @ 9:30 Club, DC 4/19/2016
Esperanza Spalding @ 9:30 Club, DC 4/19/2016
Esperanza Spalding @ 9:30 Club, DC 4/19/2016
Esperanza Spalding @ 9:30 Club, DC 4/19/2016

This show was great. I didn’t know much about Spalding going it but it turns out she is quite the performer – both in a musical sense and the dramatic. The concert was more like a musical stage play, performed to a absolutely sold-out 9:30 Club. If you are a fan of her music I would say don’t miss out on the chance to see her live; I thought it was great and I was just some guy off the street, essentially.

Read the Washington Post review here | See all my photos from the show here

Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center

Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016
Justin Bieber @ Verizon Center - 4/29/2016

This show was pretty tough. I’ve been to a lot of pop shows over the years and though I rarely enjoy the music, usually artists at the arena or stadium level seem to be pure entertainers, like Usher, vibing with the crowd and their fans, like Ke$ha, or in complete control of the crowd like Kylie Minogue. Not Bieber. He just seemed bored, or something. Not sure if it was an off night or what, but my only thought after walking out of this show was “man, that guy really didn’t want to be up there, did he?” Too bad, because it was a hell of a light show and stage setup, and a full house.

Read the Washington Post review of the show (which echoes much of my sentiments) | See all my photos from the show

Integrity @ Soundstage.

Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.
Integrity @ Soundstage.

I shot Integrity (featuring Dom Romeo from A389 Records/Pulling Teeth/etc on guitar) awhile back. Great show, as always. Integrity is one of the bands from my youth that have stuck with me. I wouldn’t have guessed in then, but I find myself listening to them just as much or more now as I did when I had first heard them. Dwid also is always a fun frontman, and obviously really gets his audience. Good show!

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE

Concerts with the x100t: King Diamond, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar

King Diamond @ Housecore 2015

King Diamond @ Housecore 2015

KING DIAMOND
Corrosion of Conformity (w/ Pepper Keenan) @ Housecore 2015
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (with Pepper Keenan)
Crowbar @ Housecore 2015
Crowbar @ Housecore 2015
CROWBAR

As I noted here, I’ve been shooting a LOT with my Fuji x100t lately, and have even started shooting shows with it. It’s a surprisingly robust camera, I’m liking the results. Here are some images from Housecore Horror Fest 2015 I pulled off of one my cards…

Concerts with the x100t: Watain, Mayhem.

Mayhem @ Soundstage
Mayhem @ Soundstage
Mayhem @ Soundstage
MAYHEM
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
WATAIN

I’ve been using a Fuji x100t – a rangerfinder-esque camera – as my walk around camera, and also doing some concert shooting with it, with what I think are some pretty decent results. Here are some shots from the recent (and awesome) Watain & Mayhem show at Baltimore Soundstage – pretty good for a little camera, I think.

You can see more of these and compare them with my DSLR photos from the show HERE.

Big Mouth @ Windup Space

Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03
Big Mouth @ Windup Space 2016/03

Big Mouth is one of my absolute favorite Baltimore live bands, they hadn’t played a show for awhile before this one, so I was really stoked to go. I’ve been carrying my Fuji x100t lately, a smaller camera, and I took this show as an opportunity to try and shoot a show entirely with it. It was super challenging, but fun, and I think it came out pretty well.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE

Watain @ Soundstage : 2015/11/25

Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Mayhem @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage
Watain @ Soundstage

Watain never disappoints. Always a great show, always a terrible smelling show. I had heard they wouldn’t be as vigorous with the blood and animal carcasses on this tour, but that proved to be wrong. The next day at Thanksgiving Dinner, someone asked me if I had spilled food on my jeans and I had to admit that it was congealed pig’s blood.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE