Thursday, December 27, 2012

Something Bigger Than Yourself

Earlier this December I was asked to photograph a benefit show. The beneficiaries were the children at the Catholic Children's Home. Jay Lipe, the man that put the show together, wanted to do something for these kids for Christmas. He took them out for dinner and got them gifts. Some of the gifts were musical instruments because "music is important" and I would have to agree. I thought it was a wonderful gesture and I bet those kids really appreciated it.
Here's where you can find more info about CCH: www.catholicchildrenshome.com

The night of the show itself was the first really cold day this season. The temp really dropped and we had 30 mph winds. I did not want to go outside, and was successful in that endeavor most of the day. In the end though, I was glad that we braved mother nature to make it out to the show. I got to see some musicians that I really enjoyed. The first three to go on were more of a mellow pace than I usually see and it was perfect for a cold week day night.

The first was Ardor Glowing. Apparently this band has a five and two piece version. We saw the two piece. I liked these guys a lot. Their vocals sound great together and the music was very pleasant. I would recommend checking them out.


 
 
Next up was Eric Hensley who performed solo. I don't believe he has a page about his solo music (at least I couldn't find one) but he also was a member of Autumn Clock.
 

After Eric, was Patrick Read who is from Nashville and mentioned that he hadn't performed live for a while but has clearly been playing because he certainly did not appear out of practice.



I thought Patrick had a great voice. I enjoyed listening to him very much, with the exception of a cover he did of a song I just don't like but I won't blame him too much for that.  
 
Ambiance
 
The show was actually free, but donations went to the cause. 
 
 

After the first three performances, things picked up quite a bit. The next two bands were a much faster pace. Jay, who is the one that put the show together, played a few songs and then made way for Nudnik, a Sex Pistols tribute band.
 


The evening was certainly an eclectic mix of sounds but I think it worked. And as a bonus the show was at 300 State, which is a place that recently got a bit of a remodel and upgrade to include pizza. And I don't mean regular bar pizza. I mean quality pizza place pizza. Go there and eat some. Do it now. 
 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Fall Colors

I've been slacking. Here's one of my recent photo shoots with my cousin's family we did last month. Those girls are growing up so fast.


We went out to her parent's house and did the photos in the back yard. We wanted them to be outside to try and take advantage of the fall colors and their yard is not only just as good as any park would be for this purpose, but it means something to them.


It all went very well. The weather ended up being so nice we didn't even have to worry about jackets for the kids and they had a great time playing in the leaves.