This week, those fellas in Looking for Alaska have been on tour around the Southeast part of our country. Lucky for us back home, they played a tour kick-off show here before hitting the dusty trail. There was a lot of Josh Cannon and several balloons involved. See for yourself in the photos linked below!
Wicker. Projections. Looking for Alaska. Dec. 16 ’11 @ Awesometown. Cordova, TN.
You know how I have been going on and on lately about local music? Well here is another little tidbit on that subject. As I have lamented several times this past year (via this blog) I have been out of the local music loop for the past couple of years. So many responsibilities, so little time for attending shows…
At any rate, Wicker was one of the local bands I hadn’t seen in a loooooong time. Srsly. A long time. This past weekend I decided it was high time I remedy that situation. I couldn’t be more glad that I did! I had forgotten how fun seeing Wicker could be. It was actually a great reminder for me that fun is sorta the whole point of this band. I mean, you’re pretty much guaranteed that at least some members of the band will be in costume during their set and, more often than not, some type of hijinks will occur. And boy, do the kids (as I like to call them) have a good time at Wicker shows! Anyone who saw me while they were playing would have seen that I was feeling pretty dancey as I watched the band. That’s right. I could be seen dancing in my place as I took pictures. Told ya I had a good time…
Wicker. Nov. 12 ’11 @ The Smithseven House. Cordova, TN.
Nikon FE • Kodak C-41 B&W film
My long-time BEF Meredith moved to Portland, Oregon at in August. We in Memphis didn’t see her often because she’d been in Bowling Green, Kentucky for four years (or so.) I was so glad she breezed through town before heading off to the Pacific Northwest, asking me to join her for lunch at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant. It was lovely to catch up and over some lemongrass tofu. And, boy, did we laugh.
Here is a fact about my life: almost every friend I have is a musician. Music and bands are the reason I know 95% of the people I’ve met in the past decade. That’s how I ended up doing band photography in the first place: going to my friends gigs. Then I met more people in bands and befriended them, too. And if it’s not someone who is directly in a band, most of my other friends were met through musicians who are mutual friends or just by being at the same shows for so many years. And so forth and so on! And, yes, I do have a point with all this…
My point is: I’ve been out of the circulation from local shows for a bit now, due mostly to work scheduling conflicts. I’m discovering that I’ve missed that part of my life and those people and probably new people I could discover at those shows. Since that whole work scheduling thingy isn’t an issue right now, I’m trying my darndest to get out and see my friends play more often! I did so this past weekend, in fact, by heading out to the far east {Cordova, TN!} to see my friends’ band, Looking for Alaska. After I finally got to hear their music, I was kicking myself that it had taken me this long!
I have to say: I really, truly, genuinely think these guys are one of the best local bands I’ve heard in some time. They’re my cuppa tea. I may even be getting a sense of excitement over local music again! You see, in recent years, I have felt like there was a hole in my heart left by some of the local bands I used to love but aren’t together any more. Looking for Alaska just might be able to plug up that hole. AND they’ve just recorded an album, a fact which makes me both excited for them and eager for its release so I can get my hands on it!
Click on through for pictures of Looking for Alaska. Aug. 12 ’11. Smithseven House.
Photos of While I Breathe, I Hope & Pezz @ The Hi-Tone. Mar. 25 ’11.
When I got word some months back that While I Breathe, I Hope (WIBIH) was “getting the band back together” and playing a reunion show, I was so unbelievably happy. These guys are friends of mine, and watching them play, taking their photos, and singing along with them had been a staple in my life for years! I couldn’t wait for this reunion show because I knew I and all of our friends connected to WIBIH would have SO much fun. I was not wrong about this. We had a blast! The band sounded great, they were enjoying themselves, and, as one of my friends so aptly put it, “It was like 2005 again!”
Now, even though I knew it was their last show, it didn’t actually occur to me until the very end that this was not just a reunion show, it was a final show. While I Breathe played their final song, one called “I’d Be a Liar to Feel That Way.” There is a break in the music, where the band stops for a second, Drew comes back in on the drums, then they start playing again and Jeremy sings the outro “It’s gotta go, so much deeper than they have/for me to make a move that way.” But on the night of this show, the band stopped playing, Jeremy stepped off the stage, the band started playing the outro, and Adam started singing those words. And, I don’t mean to get all emotional on ya’ll, but I suddenly felt a sense of finality. Because I don’t really know if WIBIH will ever play a show together again. I got unexpectedly sad!
Then we went outside and took “kids pics” (a feature on the old version of Shoot With Personality) and it really did feel like 2005 all over again.
It truly was a bittersweet sort of night, and while there were some friends missing from the crowd who I wish would have been there with us, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
So, my friends in While I Breathe, I Hope, I want to say:
Two Sundays ago, Mallory and I did some photos in her apartment. I knew I had an amazingly stellar camera, which was on loan from a friend. I knew Mallory had a pretty dress, which she had known was “just the one” when I mentioned we should get together to play with the camera I’d borrowed. What I didn’t know is that playing dress-up on that rainy Sunday afternoon would produce such beautiful images. I think Mallory, a Contax 645, and I make a pretty good team.
Can we say “spontaneous visit to Stax”?
I hope so, because that’s what we’re here to talk about today.
Two weeks ago, I got a message from Meredith, which stated: “We are going to the Stax Museum. You want to go? Free ticket!!!”
Yes, obviously!
It seems that Meredith’s fella, Kevin, had bought some tickets to Stax at a discounted price and I was asked to come along.
In tow that afternoon were Meredith, Kevin, and Kevin’s friend Ryan. And me, of course.
That’s me, soul fan extroidinare!
So, when we were watching the introductory film/documentary at the museum, it was really difficult for me to not be up and singing and dancing throughout its running time.
In conclusion, I had a wonderful time at Stax with friends, and loved doing some photography that reminded me of the olden days of Shoot With Personality. And being inspired to perhaps begin a new “Memphis Museums” series…
Today’s edition of Babyyyyyy Photography: It’s Baby Ezra again – aged 7 months!
Location: University of Memphis area
Here’s the story: I saw a mobile phone photo of Ezra sitting next to his family’s Christmas tree. I knew immediately knew that we had to do a mini photo shoot to commemorate Ezra’s first Christmas. Because he is too presh. Too too presh. His parents were on the same page about the matter, and the rest, as they say, is history. We had a mini photo session in his home, which was so great because I think little ones are sometimes more at ease in familiar surroundings. Plus, Ezra’s mom and dad have great style, so shooting in their home is extra awesome.
This smile? Ezra’s reaction when his daddy came home from running an errand. Love it!
I just love seeing this little family unit interact with each other. I was showing my mother some of these photos, and she said “Ooooh, you can tell they love that baby so much. That makes me so happy.” I couldn’t agree more!
This might be my favorite shot of the whole afternoon though:
I just think this shot says it all!
Miss Hannah, with her pretty brown eyes and her brightly-colored tights, on a breezy Friday night downtown.
28. 02. 2010
Location: Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, TN. Equipment: Canon AE-1, Polaroid 250, Lomo LC-A, Nikon FE*
It was last year when I became sensitized to the existence of the Crystal Shrine Grotto, due to a small wedding I photographed there. Ever since since then, I have been fascinated, I tell you! As per usual though, I kept forgetting to go back to do more photographic exploration of the grotto. I mentioned this to my friend Ashley, who is both an adventurer at heart and a photo enthusiast. Ashley’s a GREAT friend, and wanted to help me remember that the Memorial Park grotto was on my photographic “to-do” list. She did so by scheduling a photo excursion to the grotto with me.
It was almost like kismet the day we went to Memorial Park. The weather in Memphis had been what I can only describe as “blah” for most of the weeks leading up to the end of February. The day of this excursion though, it was simply gorgeous outside! Blue, clear skies. Mild temperature – not too hot, not too cool. And Ashley had a few of her friends in tow with her, all of whom happen to be avid photographers as well. It was so awesome!
You’d think all of the above elements would mean all of us photogs would be intent upon running around, snapping photos of interesting elements of the cemetery and grotto. But really, this excursion was just the most chilled out thing ever. There’s this great seating area at the grotto that is meant to be like a large, hollowed out tree. I’m pretty sure all of us would like to live in a tree if we could, so this was right up our alley! Some of the boys were climbing on top of the tree while we were inside having a cupcake picnic (comes in handy to work on Saturday nights at a bakery – you get to take home the leftovers!)
We did poke around the grotto’s cave for awhile, but I actually didn’t end up doing much photography inside – as you can plainly tell by the lack of indoor shots featured here today (except for this creepy photo of Aaron with a wooden Jesus.) Most of our time was spent sitting in that tree I told you about, just talking and making photographs of each other.
So, in conclusion, my sincerest of thanks to Ashley, Grant, Aaron and Alex for giving me such a refreshing and photographically fulfilling way of spending a pretty Sunday afternoon.
*(Yep. I went a bit overboard with the scope of equipment I used on this wee little photo excursion. Not to worry though; I wasn’t burdened with lugging all these cameras around. Clever girl that I am, my car was parked closely enough that I could just go back and forth for what I needed. I could leave a camera in my car if I were done and pick out a different one to take back up to the grotto with me.)