Of Monsters and Men

Of Monsters and Men is a band that has gone a long way in a short amount of time...literally and figuratively. They traveled to Seattle from Reykjavik, Iceland and I had the privilege of photographing a private show they performed for lucky contest winners for listeners of 107.7 The End at the Gibson show room. I got there pretty early to set up and the band was already there warming up with new Gibson guitars. The entire time they were laughing and teasing each other. It was very obvious they were enjoying themselves in the midst of an international tour and their enthusiasm was contagious. This band has just blown up on the scene. Their hit song Little Talks is super catchy and fun and seems to be on the radio constantly. They sounded fantastic live again with energy, fun and an authentic performance. After the show they took some time to meet their fans and get their photos taken with them. They were humble and nice, considerate and cool.

I had a box of finger puppet monsters in my car that I brought in hoping to convince one or two to wear one. When they saw the box the entire band surrounded me like trick or treaters on Halloween night. They filled all their fingers and played with them the entire time we did pics. They kept the batch and later my friend Iron Mike Savoia shot their sold out show at Showbox Sodo (his amazing pics from the show can be seen here: Mikes FB Gallery In Mike's photos you can see that they had decorated the stage with the little monsters. So fun! I hope to see them again soon and if you get the chance, you should too! Their new album: 'My Head is an Animal' is going to be released on April 3 and can be pre-ordered here: PREORDER

I always like to get my ugly mug in the shot when I can :) Sheesh..look at how gray my beard is getting! I've never seen it from that angle before!

LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends at the Triple Door Theater in Seattle

LeRoy Bell (prounced La-Roy, not Lee-Roy) defines the word cool in my opinion. His voice is nothing short of amazing. His wit and charm on stage can't help but make you smile and the diversity of his music is overwhelming. He walked through the crowd and literally touched nearly every person in the theater making it a very personal event. His fans are..well, his fans are nuts! They were dancing, singing and just plain rockin out the entire time.

I rarely watch the reality tv shows...well, OK that's a lie. I watch them all. American Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race. I'm a dork, you know it, I know it. Why lie? That being said when The X Factor came on I said to my Wife there was no way we were going to add another show to our list to watch. I knew there had been auditions at Key Arena in Seattle though so we had to tune in and watch that.

The Seattle audition episode wasn't the classiest show I've ever seen. One man dropped his pants and started flapping his junk in front of the arena. The cameras showed parents rushing their children out of the venue in horror. Paula Abdul started to vomit. All in all, a classless introduction to the show that probably should have been left out in my opinion. That was all wiped away when LeRoy Bell performed with his silky vocals ensuring he would make it to the next round. I recognized his name and remembered he had been a regular at the Triple Door so of course we had to watch and see how he did with the rest of the season. He was placed in the "Over 30's" group with mentor Nicole Scherzingerthe former Pussycat Doll who quite honestly rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning of the season but by the time it was all said and done ended up being one of my favorites. The over 30's group in my opinion was by far the strongest of the four(Boys, Girls, Groups and the Old Fogies at 30+). Both LeRoy and Josh Krajcik were in my opinion the most talented on the show.

Without recapping the entire season I'll just say that we ended up watching it all. The only episode we missed happened to be the one LeRoy was booted from the show. He made the top 10 and I would like to think that is mostly due to the fact Lea and I voted for him countless times each week :)

So after all that it was a real privilege to get to shoot his first of two performances at the Triple Door Theater in Seattle this past Thursday night. I got to meet him briefly back stage and he was just as nice as you would think. On stage he teased a bit about the show asking how many people in the audience were there only because they saw "The Show." Quite a few people sheepishly raised their hands resulting in a chuckle from LeRoy.

The photos are below. I hope you like them.

On a side note, during the month of April my photos will be on display in the Triple Door theater so if you find yourself in the neighborhood be sure to stop in and check them out! That all starts Thursday April 5. I'll be there from 5pm until 7pm that evening to kick it off and hope to see you there!

Gigantour! Motorhead, Megadeth, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil in Kent

February 21 was a loud night in Kent, WA at the Showare Center. This was my first time shooting there and hopefully not the last. First of all, let me say that the arena is awesome! FREE PARKING for everyone! Are you kidding me? That sold me on the place alone. The staff was friendly and professional. There was mayhem and mullets everywhere you looked! The vibe was fun, upbeat and just plain awesome! Italian Goth/Metal band Lacuna Coil and Danish Metal band Volbeat killed it! Spot on performances with a very high level of intensity! Check out the Volbeat website to get an idea of what it was like there.

Next up was Motorhead! Lemmy is a legend in rock and roll there is no denying it. I've read he relates more to the punk scene than the metal scene. I say screw it, the music scene in general can relate to Lemmy. He plays hard and it was a dream come true to get to shoot him.

Megadeth closed out the night sounding better than ever! The last time I saw them play was at the Salem Armory in Oregon with Suicidal Tendencies sometime in the mid to late 80s. That was the first time I had to be pulled out of the pit by security as I remember I got knocked around pretty good in there. Now that I'm a bit overweight and pushing 40 (June 12...send cake) I decided to watch from the seats in back. Great stage, their stage presence carried all the way to the back of the room. It was great fun. I also learned recently that Dave Mustaine is a born again Christian which makes me like him even more! I hope to get to shoot them later in the year when they play with Rob Zombie!

Megadeth! I loved the energy of the crowd.

Volbeat

Lacuna Coil

Ever wonder where the singer goes during the drum solo? Check out Lemmy as he inhaled a cigarette in about one deep drag! The man is made of iron!

Volbeat

Lacuna Coil

The levitating singer!

Oceanside, Oregon

I've seen a lot of beauty on our amazing planet but I can't think of anyplace more beautiful than the Oregon Coast. This shot was taken at Oceanside. I thought I had left myself enough room between my tripod and the tide. I was wrong.

James Mercer of the Shins End Session

On Friday afternoon in anticipation of his new album Port of Morrow coming out on March 20, James Mercer of the Shins did a 5 song solo acoustic set at Red Hook Brewery for a small handful of lucky radio contest winners courtesy of 107.7 The End. Below are a few photos. You can see the rest of the photos by clicking the following link.... Shins Photos Here

Nada Surf at the Triple Door Theater in Seattle

Nada Surf played a great set at the Triple Door for KEXP this afternoon! Here are some pics from the show...