Photos: Harlow, Flight 619, Walking In Circles @ Tim Owens' Travelers Tavern

Friday evening, I got to see the updated Travelers Tavern or as most remember it, Rippers Rock House. I was diggin' the new setup and when you walk-in, you're greeted with a cozy dining establishment equipped with a full bar. As you make your way down to the other end of the floor, things get feeling more at home when you reach the stage. The place was packed full of fans all over the board with Harlow (Detroit, MI), Flight 619, and Walking In Circles all setting off bangin' sets to start the weekend. Here are a few of my favorites from the evening.

WALKING IN CIRCLES

FLIGHT 619

HARLOW

Photos: Entendre Promo Shoot @ The Variety Theatre

Sunday, I was hired to shoot Entendre's new band promo at a place, not any 'general' place, but a location with a much historic past that began in 1920s. I'm speak of the 88 year old Variety Theatre located in west Cleveland.

Photo: Afterthefinalcurtain.net

Through a donation by the management of the band, we were giving free roam of this gorgeous Spanish-gothic style theater that not only housed a great cinema selection and vaudeville back in its heyday, but also staged some of the biggest names in music. We are talking about bands such as Slayer, Metallica, the Dead Kennedys, R.E.M, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Motörhead. Patrick Colvin of the Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre, told us Motörhead literally brought the house town that evening as the plaster of the ceiling began to fall onto the crowd. It was the beginning of the end for being a concert hall as the noise pollution was too much for surrounding residents and at this point, the place was showing its age.

With so much history attached to the Variety Theatre, it does leave behind a reminiscence of permanent residents roaming the venue. Yes. I'm talking about ghosts. Alongside a great history lesson by Patrick, he disclosed about spirits that still reside in the building. A woman in a white dress with piercing red eyes, playful children, and voices that echo the amphitheater were just a few he recalled on with interesting stories and occurrences he had encountered.

The future of the beautiful venue is currently in the hands of donations, grants, and money collected from residents living above the theater to restore it in its glorious form. If you have a chance to check this out, please do. They do offer tours and walk-a-rounds through donations and it's totally worth it. To donate to the nonprofit Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre and for updates, follow them on Facebook.

The Shoot

The first thing that made this come together (besides the killer location) was having the band show up with a matching style of threads. I can't tell you how much this helps for a shoot to bring "unity" to a band.

I placed the guys on the stage for this shot for a couple of reasons. One, it's a friggin' old stage with great rock history. And two. The aged look of the mechanics of the theater conceptualized the look of a rock-n-roll band. Very simple. A total of 4 lights were used for this shot you see above. Two flash strobes angled 45 degrees, camera left and right. Two halogen work lights placed behind the band for a shadow to dramatize the overall image.

Entendre w/ Matt Gisbrecht of PFV

Entendre w/ Matt Gisbrecht of PFV

Entendre are in the studio now and one of their tracks include hip hop artist, Matt Gisbrecht of PFV. I will be honest. I am not a rap/hip hop fan by all means, but I listened to some of his tracks and the beats and lyrics are very real and hit all your emotions. Matt is such a down-to-earth guy and was honored to work with him that day!

I changed my setup when Matt got into this shot. Used a SB-910 flash camera right to light the guys of Entendre where my second flash attached with a snoot to direct the light towards Matt, without filling in light from the guys behind.

Thank you Entendre, RC (band's manager), PFV, and Patrick for letting everything come together with positive vibes and a great working atmosphere! I would also like to thank the spirits of the Variety Theatre for not draining my batteries or photo bombing my images. Even though it would of been really neat if a couple orbs or eyes peered in my shots. :P

Photos: One-Eyed Doll w/ Stitched-Up Heart and MORE @ The Agora

Wednesday night's 5-band extravaganza at the Agora was one that took me awhile to wrap my head around. Not a negative outlook, but the diverse range of music on one bill...well, took me awhile to come up with the right kind of adjectives to label this show (Still don't think I got it). 

First up, Olathia opened up with their typical, hard hitting balls-to-the-walls performance which got a lot of the people in the doors and to the stage. Always seems like a great night when their name is on the bill, regardless of position. Chris and I thought this would be a great opportunity to shift their music onto a slightly different audience. With success they had a buzz over by their march table with praise and compliments.

Olathia (Cleveland, OH)
 

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At this point of the evening, things slightly took a change in music.

The kids dressed in black with an attitude of, "To hell with it. We don't care". Dr. Dreadful, labeled as 'Horror Rock', certainly can back up this new genre with dark lyrics, fun catchy guitar strings, and...ZOMBIES! Right from the Akron area, they brought a slew of fans up to the Agora and played an amazing show that got me hooked on their music. Love their titled song, "The Dead Regime". Can't wait to check these guys out again soon!

Dr. Dreadful (Akron, OH)

A young band out of Phoenix, Arizona called Run 2 Cover shifted the tone from a dark, eerie setting, to an upbeat pop/rock locale with music you would typically find on the Vans Warped Tour or on your little sister's iPod playlist. Run 2 Cover had the boy band vibe that you would typically find yourself closing your ears, because the girls around you were screaming at the dudes in the band. That wasn't the case as much of the audience definitely was mellowed and well, goth'd for One-Eyed Doll. Not my type of music, but I enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm they brought and how they worked the stage. 

Run 2 Cover (Phoenix, AZ)

Two of the bands that stuck out were...well you know the first, and this band, Stitched-Up Heart. When the stage lights went up, you were greeted with this cute, brightly blonde-headed chick covered in tattoos who immediately changed the energy for the night. Most of the guys in the band were slightly glammed up in makeup and rip torn jeans. For some reason, they sported a resemblance to a young Motley Crue with a more of a modern look. Mixi harmonized the mic with a awesome performance from one of their top hits, "Finally Free". You can check out the video here.

Stitched-Up Heart (Los Angles, CA)

I'm not sure if I can accurately describe the tone of One-Eyed Doll or even their music, but the only way I could explain it was if you can picture a young girl who talks to invisible people and communicates with a ouija board in her parent's bleak attic. Maybe there's a full moon in that picture somewhere. Rock-N-Roll is too vague to classify this art. By all means, this isn't a bad thing I'm comparing as she put on a damn good show all equipped with 4 foot hair whips (which I was the victim of about 4 times), powerful high kicks, and cliché Halloween props. Kimberly, the lead singer in this duo-band from Austin, TX, had a very charismatic demeanor as she involved much of the audience as part of her show. There's also a sweetness to her as well. Once you get past the demonic creatures and stories she loves to tell between songs. 

One-Eyed Doll (Austin, TX)

I would like to thank the Agora for having me and also like to thank Olathia and the other bands for a unique, but entertaining evening. Cheers!