December 2014

In August of 1999, a road manager I knew called me and asked me if I would like to come to New Orleans and photograph the band he was working with. They were called the Dixie Chicks, and they were playing at the Superdome, opening for George Strait. I didn’t know much about them- I kind of thought they were a country version of the Spice Girls. But, I will go to New Orleans for anyone, so I flew down there and called the road manager from the lobby of their hotel. He suggested that I put my luggage in his room, and wait for them on their bus, which I did.

Soon, the girls jumped on the bus, and immediately started a conversation about my career, all based on the fact that they had looked at every page of my website. I was very impressed. When we got to the Superdome, they had to immediately go into a meet and greet. I played a fly on the wall, and watched them spend one and one time with every person in the room. I was even more impressed.

Then they hit the stage, and my being impressed went through the roof. Man, they were great!! Great musicians, great voices and some great songs. When they got done playing, they asked me what I thought, and I told them I was officially a fan. They gave me the keys to all their rooms, told me to pick the one I liked and bring the rest to the front desk, as they were heading out. They dropped me off and headed out into the night. As they left me at the hotel, they invited me to the Chicago show the following week.

About a year later, they put out a new album, called “Fly.” They flew me down to Nashville, and I took pictures while they shot a series of television commercials for their first big headline tour. The commercials were hilarious, showing them mistaking a bidet for a drinking fountain, dropping a purse in the middle of a fancy hotel lobby and having about a hundred small shampoo bottles and soaps spill out, and jumping out of the back of a limo to pump their own gas. One of the first singles from the album was a song called “Goodbye Earl,” a story about an abusive husband, and how his wife dealt with it. Very controversial for country music, but it became a hit very quickly. So, they shot a video in Hollywood, and flew me out to shoot around the video. I spent two days in the Hollywood Hills with the Dixie Chicks, Dennis Franz,  Lauren Holly, Jane Krakowski, Adrian Pasdar and Michael DeLuise. Two beautiful days and two really cold nights in the Hills made for the #1 country video of the year!

Early the next year, they flew me to Winnipeg, to begin 4 days of shows across Canada, pictures of which appeared in ads and tour merchandise. I have followed their careers since then and have thoroughly enjoyed their music through the years whenever I went to photograph them. It is nice to see they good guys win!!

In 1985, Tipper Gore, wife of vice-president Al Gore, along with other “Washington Wives” formed the Parents Music Resource Center to suggest to the music industry that they develop “guidelines and/or a rating system” for recorded music. In August of that year, hearings were held in front of Congress. Among others, Frank Zappa testified “the PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretation and enforcement problems inherent in the proposal’s design.”

So, one of my clients, Playboy Magazine, asked me to illustrate an article they were doing on the subject. They wanted as portrait of Frank, showing what would happen if the PMRC won. Frank was making an appearance at the “Limelight,” a club in Chicago. I arranged a quick photo session. I bought a quart of milk and a package of Vanilla Wafers, brought all of my stuff down there, set up a white background and wrapped a small box with white paper. I placed the milk and cookies on the block and waited. After a while, Frank was ushered into the room, laughed at the plan, sat down and a great shoot happened.

As Frank got up to leave, a drunk guy barged into the room and asked to also be photographed. He looked vaguely familiar. After I photographed him (He asked for it) I asked someone who the guy was. It was Rob Lowe!!!

Several weeks later, Playboy called me to add to the assignment. Ice Cube’s manager asked if he could be included in the article. So I went to the hardware store and bought three rolls of electrical tape- Red White and Blue. I flew to LA, drove the rental car to Ice Cube’s house, sat in his living room eating ice cream bars and watching “Raising Arizona” his favorite movie. When the movie ended, he asked me what the plan was. I was praying that he would like the plan. When I explained it, he smiled and said “Lets go for it!!” So I taped his mouth closed with Red White and Blue tape, and proceeded to shoot!

These were two of my all time favorite portraits!

In June of 1991, I got a call to hang with my friends in Anthrax while they shot a video in Chicago with Public Enemy for the song “Bring the Noise.” This was a new version of the Public Enemy song recorded in 1988. It was one of the best collaborations between a rap band and a heavy metal band, and it was decided that they would record the song in Chicago. So, I met them in the morning and followed them around throughout the day. This included one of my finest moments, when, at lunch Flavor Flav inquired, very loudly, what he was holding up. It was a piece of  lox, which he had taken from the table where it resided next to a platter of bagels. So, I walked over and showed Flavor Flav how to make a lox and bagel sandwich. He declared it very tasty!

Later in the day, while filming in a playground, I was sitting on a bench between Chuck D. and Anthrax’s bass player Frankie Bello. As we sat there a fire broke out in a building across the street. Chuck looked over and said “I wonder how long it will take for the Fire Department to get here.” This was in reference to a song on PE’s latest album, titled 911 is Just a Number, which says that 911 is answered much slower in the ghetto. He was right. The entire porch burned off the house before the fire truck got there.

A short time later, Frankie leaned over and asked me a crazy question. “Do you know Madonna?” YIKES!! I told him I didn’t but I knew people that knew her. So he told me that he wanted to audition to be her bass player. I told him to send me a package of his work. When I got it I sent it to the Madonna camp. Several weeks later he got a letter saying they liked his playing, but weren’t looking for someone at that time. He still talks about it to this day!

In 1989, I was invited to tag along on the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour of America. My first day on the tour is the one that I describe as one of the most hectic days of my life:

Wake up in Chicago

Cab to the airport- fly to Boston.

Cab to the Ritz Carlton- call the road manager from the lobby.

Go to his room- get my passes and I am asked to leave my luggage in the corner of his room, with the supplied luggage tags affixed. Head to the lobby to wait.

One hour later a bunch of vans pull up. I am told which van to get in. A caravan heads out to Foxboro, where I shoot my first show as the official Stones Tour photographer. I am handed a set list and told to pack up and be in a van behind the stage before the final song starts.

A caravan of vans following a police escort leave the venue as fireworks explode overhead and head to the airport.

Drive out to a private plane and climb the stairs for a trip to Birmingham, Alabama.

All that in about 15 hours.  Etiquette says that the band gets on the plane first, then the entourage. When I get on the plane, people are scattered all over. I am standing there wondering where to sit, not wanting to look like an idiot. There is a small table about halfway back in the plane. Sitting at the table are Bill Wyman and Bobby Keys. Bobby, seeing my distress, motions me over and invites me to sit with them. He starts asking me questions about my life and how I got to be there as we took off. Bill, whose job seemed to be watching out the window to make sure the wing didn’t fall off (he hates flying) didn’t say much throughout the flight. As we were making final approach to the Birmingham airport, Bobby turned to Bill and said, “Hey Bill, do you remember when you guys opened up for my band here in Birmingham?”

Bill looked at him like he was crazy, and Bobby explained that on one of those famous package tours in the early 1960’s, he was headlining a show playing sax behind Bobby Vee, and the Rolling Stones were one of the many opening acts. I decided that I was now at Rock and Roll fantasy camp for the next three months, and hung with Bobby as often as I could. A nicer guy you will never meet. Through three Stones tours, he was always smiling, happy and playing great.

During one of those tours, I got a call on the road from my friend Jay, who was producing a record for his band, The Insiders. He wanted to know if I could ask Bobby to play on a song on their new record. I said I would ask, not expecting a positive answer. But of course he said he would be delighted!! I met him and his horn in the lobby of the hotel on our day off in Chicago, and we headed to Jay’s studio. When we got there, and everybody was introduced, he went in to play. A few minutes later, as posted on Jays Facebook page, he came out and said “I am very hungover!” “aw man, if i put that thing in my mouth and blow one more time my head will explode”. He asked to come back the next day (a show day) and we made the trip again. He of course played great, and made a bunch of people very happy.

I last saw him earlier this year when the Stones came through town, and he greeted me with a hug and a smile.

Bobby Keys passed away this week after battling cancer and liver failure. He was 70 years old. He will be missed.