The Ghost Of A Thousand shoot from this week's Kerrang! Got a nice call from Gez (the bass player) thanking me for the shoot. They were a great bunch of "patient" guys!

Ok this story cracked me up. I've heard of athletes failing drug tests but this one takes the cake...

Off to Camden tomorrow to do a shoot with Cute Is What We Aim For. It's my second crack at it as the first try had me drive all the way to Seattle from Vancouver to find it had been cancelled! So tomorrow a Photo Session Is What I Aim For...

boring blinding screen...

Too much computer! Ok this had to be my favorite photo of the past weekend... Convincing Nick to join the Audition for obvious reasons!!

Putting it all together

So after a weekend of shooting it's been nothing but a load of computer work the last few days. The sad reality that is digital photography. Whoever said digital photography saves time is lying! It equals loads of post production to make it appear as if it was shot on film!

Would rather be out shooting, hence the photo above from Saturday night at the Gallows. (Pic: James "DJ Band PR" Sherry!)

FULL day eh?

Started quite early this morning and made my way down to a secret location by noon... I understood why this place was kept a secret as it was the dream bachelor pad. Decked out with an entire floor of plasma screens and PS3's! Top floor had a surround sound room, a bar and a dance floor... Today it was the host of an afternoon party with all the bands from the Kerrang! tour.

Biffy Clyro showed up first and it was great to see Simon, James, and Ben again. (Last time was in Vancouver while they were recording.) Had a quick chat and did a few photos at the piano upstairs for old times sake. But one of the best shots of the day was getting Nick from K! to jump in a shot with the Audition as he was wearing the same kind of striped sweater as three of the members!!

After the party it was off to the Astoria to do a quick shoot with the Bronx who were fantastic. James the bass player grew up in Tsawwassen so we had a little Canadian chat eh?!

Before they played went and met up with the Kerrang! crew which included Paul Harries, who I hadn't seen in a while. Always great to see him and even better to get photos without his knowledge during Biffy's set! (Above pic.)

Following the final night of the K! tour went over to the Koko where Klub Kerrang kicked off it's first night. (Will be the third Sat of every month) What better way to kick it off than have the Gallows headline the show. Did a quick shoot with them which turned out really well as they were dressed quite nicely for the show. Shot the show and then partied till the birds started chirping! Oh and happy birthday Laura... See I didn't forget!!

Guess who touched my shoulder?

An enjoyable evening all round. Went up to Scarlet Page's Your Child exhibition at the London West Gallery. Check it out as she has done some very nice work.

Headed down to the Proud Gallery to see Memfis. Bumped into loads of people who I hadn't seen in a while. Had a political chat with Darren Taylor, a humorous one with Memfis, and a daring one with Mr.Hughes. Then came the shoulder grazer... Chris Martin! I've never seen so many people's head turn before. It was a weird mix of metal and indie people so maybe that's why he left so quick. Or perhaps it was guest DJ Frank from Gallows choice of music in Pantera's Cowboys From Hell that did it!

Oh and the gallery had some pretty tacky decorations that I couldn't resist taking a pic of...

on the heath

Went up to Hampstead Heath for a quick shoot with Memfis this afternoon. Met up with Mr.Hughes, had a quick look around for some locations and then the band showed up. Had to be quick as the light was disappearing fast. Very nice Swedish guys with a great sense of humor especially when they were doing things on the heath they shouldn't have! Had a drink with them after and will be seeing them tomorrow at the Proud Gallery where they are playing.

After we left the heath pub I went down for a quick drink with the K's and Gallows. Was nice to see them and it won't be too long before I see them again on Saturday!! Ducked out before things got too messy and headed home...

Oh and watch out for matches, they'll take an arm off if you aren't careful!

when good bands...

Go BAD! Got a last minute email today to shoot the Blood Brothers tonight and thought hey they were great when I saw them a few years ago... Well tonight they were not the same band. Completely all over the place (maybe an off night?) and all I could think about was going home and putting on the CD I can't stop listening to right now... (Hence the photo. Go listen to Mastodon's Blood Mountain now!) Normally would have left but met up with my sister at the show so stayed through it all.

The opening act wasn't much better either and I think they should change their name to Help She Can't Sing!

sunday busy sunday

Spent the day at the computer sorting all the recent shoots and putting together the one from Friday. The p-shop work on the "Ghost" shoot came together really quickly and looks interesting.

Went out for a walk and a little dinner with Lisa who is married to one of my oldest friends Jason. She was over here on business and it was great to catch up, especially on what the new high-school athletics director is up to in Hope!

Here's a shot of Hinder from Memphis which will be in Kerrang! this week...

cranium

What's your guess on this one? Actually this was one of the better plasticine sculptures from the game...

No idea how...

we pulled it together this morning. But from our drunken conversation last night managed to do a quick shoot with Neurosonic "early" this morning around the very clean Kensington. After the shoot and a few delayed tubes, caught a train to Brighton.

Next was a shoot with The Ghost Of A Thousand who were a nice bunch of very patient guys. Had an obvious concept but it took quite a bit longer than expected. At least they kept themselves and I entertained with humor as Andy described this shot as "sweet and sour" which cracked Tom!

Priceless expression

So earlier this week got an email from Fishy saying ever heard of this Canadian band Neurosonic? They had sent a press release to the office about a showcase at the Borderline this evening. Hadn't heard of them but did a little research and saw that my old friend Troy Healy (who I hadn't talked to in the last couple of years) played guitar for them!

Rather than contacting Troy I figured I'll just show up at the show and give him a cheers from the crowd while they're on stage. The wide-eyed mouth open expression on his face was priceless and well worth it!! Also realized while watching the band I went to high school with the drummer Shane. Crazy evening and we even drunkenly organized a shoot for tomorrow morning. We'll see if anyone is actually up for it...

here we go again

And I thought there was a load of racism in this country... Look at Canada too! When I read this story the only question was "So can all the metal bands that have been denied entry to Canada in the past sue now too?"

Found the old clip of the Supersuckers job from 6 years ago. I think it was one of the first few jobs for Kerrang...

super sucking deja vu

In Brighton for the Supersuckers at the Concorde 2. Funny as they were one of the first bands I shot for Kerrang about 6 years ago. Last time I saw them was about two years ago at a Tsunami Benefit show in Seattle. They are a great Rock N' Roll band which is very far and few between these days...

Entertaining show and one crowd member was particularly drunk, young, and hilarious. He managed to spill wine all over himself and even asked me to pick up his bottle at one point. Least he gave me the thumbs up!

xxx Censored!!

Did a shoot with Enter Shikari today which went well. Came up with some crazy last minute ideas and caused an obscene scene on Berwick Street. A word of warning if you ever need to do a shoot with a fruit stand there... The second to last one is really busy (not) and the guy wanted 100 pounds! Move two down and they'll throw fruit in for a quarter of that. Well the best shots are the cheeky XXX ones.

Here's a shot from the shoot done a few months ago...

chillin'

A whole lot of boring retouching and a little bit of relaxing made up the weekend. Almost got all the Blackout shots done so now just a few Kids shots and I'll be caught up. Until tomorrow when another shoot happens!

Went to Balham today for a burger at the FBC and a visit with Laurence, Chris and the family. Must say a nice area that I will investigate more for potential moving/living...

Now when it comes to TV, the programs on in England are really not worth watching! Celeb's in a house... Not Bothered! But did see the season premiere for 24 and it is amazing that it's still as good as Day 1. Couldn't stop laughing when a special guest made a 2 second appearance!! A speaking line would have been hilarious...

train in vein

Spent most of today on trains... Took a train up to Manchester, was there for a total of 2 hours, and then back to London. In the two hour field trip to Manchester I did a shoot with Kids In Glass Houses. They were more than agreeable to hold up bricks, get in elevators, show some attitude, and it should look good when it's all done. Even Phil the drummer who the Blackout "warned" me about as being a problem was happy to do anything!! Well worth the wind-up...

the blackout

Headed into K! towers to do a shoot today with the Blackout. Nice bunch of Welsh dudes who kept laughing and kept me laughing throughout most of the shoot. They were up for the concept, so now with a little p-shop trickery it should look creepy but fun nonetheless!

After a couple of "family" photos did the old classic stand-by stairwell shot. Routing through the office came across a mini table tennis set. Although Jo and I are really concentrating we couldn't really keep much of a rally going!! (Photo: Fishy)

Off to Manchester tomorrow to do a shoot with Kids In Glass Houses. The Blackout mentioned that Phil the drummer is a difficult character so we shall see what tomorrow holds!

busy-ness

Busy times ahead. It's all good as I have three shoots in the next few days. Doing the Blackout tomorrow at the K! offices which should be interesting. The concept should be pretty creepy when is all said and done. Hopefully it will be a throw back to a couple of the B rated horror films I've worked on. Well those were more like C or D rated horror come to think of it!

The Frank Turner shoot from December ran today which turned out quite nice...

another bullet

So since I photographed the first night of the Bullet For My Valentine tour thought I would check out the last night of the tour in all it's London glory. Went down early with the usual Kerrang suspects to see Gallows who were again really good. Sat in the bar for the middle band and checked out Bullet who were allowed to use their pyro tonight because the venue was proper size!

After the show had a quick chat with Mr.Hughes, and was amazed by Ollie's magic with Laurent and Stuart of Gallows. Caught the last tube home and almost fell asleep past the stop...

One thing occurred to me as I went to the toilet at the venue in Hammersmith... They could have really done with that sign from Victoria station!

craziness

They might want to stop worrying about controlling the oil and pay a little more attention to this! I guess soon enough there won't be any land to fight over...

How about some local news... Define "Unacceptable behaviour!" And what could these be used for other than to relieve yourself?

I carried a...

Watermelon!! (Larissa's last day...)

Ran off down to Brighton for a half day with Larissa today. Went for Fish and Chips at the Regency and did a little walk around the Lanes and North Laine. With new Aldo purchases on our feet we headed back to London.

Then it was dinner at Nobu!! Well it took 3 months, 6 days, 7 hours, 30 mins, 46 seconds to find some decent sushi in London. And oh we found the best. Sashimi cuts that melt in your mouth and not on your chopstick, tempera done perfectly, and hand rolls that were not over riced... It certainly comes at a price but you know what it's worth every penny. (Nobu will be my new addiction.)

How to make Larissa's last day even more memorable? Head down to the musical Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre that's how! Yes it was good... Actually it was great! We couldn't have had a better time and the fact that we got the tickets last minute and they were at the very back (not joking last row!) made it that much better. Couldn't see most of the actors faces but it worked as we thought it was Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey the whole time! A quick little bit of packing for my "MOM" and it was a great week. Don't know how we'll out do it for the next visit...

wawawewa 2

On the way back from Newcastle after 2 hours of sleep and slow broadband at the hotel saw this out the window of the train. Only thought was coming over the hill to Springfield!!

Got back to London where Larissa and I almost passed out but managed to drag our asses into town. Hoping to see the new Bond film but turned up too late so it was Borat which was the second time! I like it's Ah-nice, High Five...

Another one?

Went up to Newcastle with Larissa and Matt who does PR for Bullet For My Valentine.

After the 3 hour train ride went to the hotel which was about 20 minutes out of Newcastle. A quick check in and then it was back to the venue where I did a quick session with Gallows who couldn't have been nicer. Great bunch of guys and look out for them as they will be everywhere soon. Also did some live shots and they go nuts with great insults to the crowd but they have a very honest sound/show and that is what makes them so good!

Did the rest of the show and Bullet took that extra step and tore the roof off the place. Metal legends in the making as one crowd member told me!! Highlight of the night was heading off to the Blue Velvet which was hilarious. Larissa managed to pick out the girl with biggest most fake rack and send me back for a lap dance. I waited until she said, "Oh there's a hot girl!" (took awhile!) but I returned the favor... She was back there for about 10 seconds and then her and the lovely hostess came back out in our group of people and did the lapdance right infront of everyone!!! Hands down the best 10 pounds I've ever spent...

Musical?

A major non-stop walk till you drop day with Larissa! We started out in Camden and slowly worked our way south to Horrids and then back up to Oxford Street. That even included some resting time at the Knightsbridge tube station as Larissa's footwear was having a go at her feet.

Had a quick bite to eat and then it was off to Guys And Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre. Pretty good but I must admit I did nod off a bit in the first half but nothing a Sol couldn't fix for the second. Good to see something other than rock shows all the time!! Well that's tomorrow as we are off to Newcastle for Bullet For My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, and the K! favorite Gallows...

Don't know if this is the best way to sell bags?

Bring on 2007

Well after excusing myself 3 times from partying last night I really wasn't too hung over today! Larissa and I managed to do a little Soho tour and ended up in a "Traditional Old Pub" (That was it's name and it had a dog!) for midnight, and a good couple of hours at the Borderline to finish off the night. A long bus ride home as the tube was delayed where we made it back in time to see the ball drop in New York.

Got up late and went for a walk around London and got tickets to go see Guys And Dolls tomorrow. Went for a really "long" pasta and went to see Apocalypto which had some of the most comical death/blood action since Kill Bill!! Got home thinking we'd see Patrick Swayze in the musical tomorrow only to find out he had finished his run a month ago!! Shall see how it is though...