March 2012

In 1993, I was asked by Mercury Records to fly to Indianapolis and get in a mobile home with two guys (actually six of us) who would become my friends. Their names were Dan Navarro and Eric Lowen. They were LA songwriters (and former singing waiters) whose songs were covered by many artists, among them Pat Benetar, who won a Grammy with their song “We Belong.” When their second album came out they were booked on a tour, and I was asked to photograph them. Within a few hours of meeting them, I realized that I knew more about touring than they did, so I became their unofficial mentor, teaching them how to pack a trailer, how not to leave the bass amp in Indiana, and how to advance hotel rooms.

Every time they would come to Chicago after that, we would hang, have some meals and I would hear some great music by two guys whose voices blended perfectly, and whose songwriting was world class.

In 2004, Eric learned he was suffering from ALS, but it didn’t stop him he continued touring, using a wheelchair to get him to the stage, playing many instruments until his hands would not work anymore, and after that wheeling to the stage and singing along with Dan’s singing and playing. He performed his last show on June 6, 2009 in Virginia. After that, he stayed home overseeing the release of much of the guys archival material.

Eric Lowen passed away yesterday, March 23^rd. He will be greatly missed.

If anyone wants to read one of the most moving pieces of writing I have ever read,

http://www.lownav.com/perfsong.html

Last weekend, one of the finest people I have ever met passed away. His name was Michael Altenberg. He was a master chef, owner of two restaurants, and one of the pioneers of the concept (quite amazing) that one could eat good food at home or in a restaurant. He was a true pioneer in the “Farm to Table” movement in the restaurant community. He put his ideals to the ultimate test- he would not buy food from a farm unless he had made a visit to the farm to make sure they were doing what he said they were doing, including making sure that they were treating their animals properly! The food in his main restaurant, Bistro Campagne, was all organic or locally produced (except for the seafood) down to the bread and butter! The cooking is superb, and the service is exceptional!!

But he was much, much more. My friend Ken told me at the funeral that he had to cancel a lunch meeting with Michael earlier in the week, and Michael offered to bring him Chicken soup. That was Michael, always trying to help people. Although the Bistro was pretty upscale, you could walk in in jeans and a tee shirt and be as welcome as if you were wearing a suit. (More than likely, when he came out of the kitchen to greet people, he would be wearing a really crude, funny or stupid tee shirt from the seventies).

In one special way, he was the opposite of everyone in the music business in one major way. Because he was so nice, and so into helping others, many people continually screwed him over. Unlike almost everyone I know in the music business, he would turn the other cheek, and welcome them back into the fold. I used to yell at him for not banning these people from his life. He would just laugh and say that he knew he was foolish, but couldn’t help himself!!

I am starting to think maybe he had the right idea.

Michael, rest in peace.

Earlier this week, I was asked to photograph the group Gomez. I knew a couple of their songs from the radio and I had done a quick shoot with them many years ago. I walked into the dressing room, and was immediately brought in to a great conversation, which proved once again that the English have much better taste in music than us Americans. Tom Gray, one of the singers and I engaged in a spirited conversation about 60’s American music, including Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach. Our conversation was interrupted by Ian, one of the other guitar player/singers, who inquired, “Where is the freaky beer?” The conversation then turned to regional breweries, then concluded with a quick shoot with the band before they hit the stage.

The first set was filled with obscure songs from their catalog, along with a tribute to Davy Jones, (an amazing cover of I’m Not Your Stepping Stone). After a five minute break, they came back to play the top ten songs that the audience voted for  before the show. No one in the band played less than two instruments (and played them very well) and three of them traded off on vocals song by song. All in all, a two hour and thirty minute show, with the sold out crowd sang along with note for note.

They were celebrating their 15^th year of recording and touring and seem to be the prototype for the perfect business plan of Music 2012. Write and play great songs, treat the audience with respect, and give them value for the money. They record every show and make songs available to the fans. They ask for song requests on their websites. AND….Most of all they are nice guys!

Earlier this week I was reading the latest issue of  Photoshop User Magazine. There is an article in it about a photographer named Alan Hess, a music photographer from Southern California. He has just published a book called: All Access, Your Backstage Pass to Concert Photography. Not much in the way of stuff people can use. Seems the people who started in the last 10 years are resigned to the fact that they will always be shooting three songs or less, and spend a great deal of time at the soundboard. He does suggest that one should wear comfortable shoes when going to a festival! Good to know. He references Jim Marshall as one of his heroes, although Jim would be rolling over in his grave if he read this book. It is basically about how to get mediocre photos during the first three songs!

Of course, when you order a book on Amazon, you get sucked into buying a few more!

The next one I clicked on is called “Three Songs, No Flash” Your ultimate Guide to Concert Photography. It was written by Loe Beerens, a photographer from the Netherlands. It is a beautiful book with absolutely nothing of worth inside! The whole book is a description of what different lenses do, and where to shoot from to get a shot of the keyboard players hands!

The third and final book (I guess I am a sucker) is called “Concert and Live Music Photography” by J. Dennis Thomas, an Austin, Tx. based photographer. This is a pretty simple book, talking about the basics of photography. There is a lot of talk about etiquette, which is good, especially the parts about treating other photographers in the pit with respect. Great little section about what he calls, with disdain, the “Hail Mary” shot, people holding their cameras over their head or on a monopod. I have always thought about bringing a pocket full of small hard objects and throwing them at the back of the heads of those people, but it doesn’t seem to be worth the trouble. He does have a page near the end talking about not signing “Rights Grab” contracts- man do I hate that term.

Although this is the best of the books, there are some amazing comments included, such as:

“Keep an eye out for the action, and try to anticipate when one of the performers is going to do something compelling.”

“ To avoid having all your shots look the same try shooting from different and odd angles.”

GOOD TO KNOW!!!!