Last Thursday night, my friend Ryan and I were having some dinner before a show, and the conversation turned to real bands compared to processed auto tuned bands and whether acts even need to know how to play their instruments anymore. We concluded that, even though it happens less and less these days, it is worth trying to find one of those real bands.

We then walked across the street and saw one of those REAL bands. Those few and far between bands renew my faith in what music should be about. Eleven people on stage, led by the husband and wife team of Susan Tedeshi and Derek Trucks- minimal equipment, didn’t even see a truck outside- I think they carried everything in a trailer, so a minimal carbon footprint. No fancy lighting. Just great music and great musicians. They played a combination of soul covers and originals. Susan is and has always been an amazing singer and a great guitar player. Derek is an amazing and effortless guitar player, good enough to play in the Allman Brothers and in Eric Clapton’s band. There were moments in the show where he was supposed to take a solo and he leaned over to her and mouthed “You take it”. A quick smile, and then she ripped into a great solo, while the band all around her had big smiles on their faces. In between solos, Susan sang with a soulfulness and ferocity not seen since the soul singers of the past. It sounds crazy to say this, but she pretty much puts Beyonce and Mariah to shame. Two and a half hours of nonstop music, with plenty of room for every member of the band to stretch out and work their magic.

One thing that was very noticeable to me was the fact that throughout the show (evidenced by the photographs above) everyone in the band seemed to be smiling almost all the time! A miracle in this day and age. A band having fun while they are bringing joy to an audience! I will go back and see them every time they come to town. One final thought- just to make it complete- they are all wonderful and nice people.

Earlier this week I stumbled across (By mistake) a classic train wreck on television:

1. Joan Jett singing a medley of her hits
2. Her duet partner was MILEY CYRUS!!!!
3. In the audience mouthing the words to “I Love Rock and Roll” was the host- OPRAH!!

It was like watching the train coming right at you with no way to get out of the way- except to dive for the remote and change the channel. Then….. last night, while I was working on a video shoot for PBS, the do-wop band that was performing sang “I Love Rock and Roll”.

So, time to tell a Joan Jett story. In the early days of her career, she didn’t allow anyone to photograph her. So, in those early days, I just snuck in and shot what I wanted and then licensed the images to any magazine that wanted them. I did this for about 5 years. Then one day, I got a call form her publicist at Epic Records. Seems her manager, Kenny Laguna, was inviting me to her upcoming show to shoot pictures! When I arrived at the venue (the same venue that the Do-wop band was playing in last night) there was a note asking me to come backstage before the show. Weighing the possibilities- either I would be welcomed with open arms, or I would get the crap beat out of me, I decided to take my chances. When I walked into the production office, Kenny saw me, came up and gave me a big hug, and yelled up the stairs- “Hey Joan, come down and meet that guys who has been sneaking pictures of you for the last 5 years! She came down and also gave me a big hug and told me she loved my pictures and we have been friends ever since.

The last time I saw her was a few years ago at the Vans Warped Tour. I was walking between the buses in 95 degree heat when a bus door opened and Joan leaned out and said- “Hey, come in and grab some air-conditioning!” We had a few laughs and I asked her if I could shoot some photos of her before she went on.  She led me up to the side of the stage where I took some nice casual portraits. The last thing that happened before the set started was the best part. Her road manager walked out to the front of the stage, leaned down, and told the security guys to make sure to tell all the photographers that they could stay for the whole set. Now, that is why I love Rock and Roll!!!!

Just spent the last three days in Kansas City. Best Bar-B-Que on the planet!! Went to Arthur Bryant’s twice in 3 days. Worth the trip just to eat.

Farm Aid was very cool (even though it was hot outside). Took place in Livestrong Sporting Park (a soccer stadium) not really built for concerts, so the stage was pretty low, causing all the photographers to have to sit for most of the show. The pit was smaller than usual, with a video camera track in the middle. So, photographers had to sit on either side. My proposal was to divide the photographers into two groups, one on either side, and let them change sides in between acts. I also suggested that we leave everyone in to shoot the entire show. This suggestion was met with a little resistance, but I suggested that we try it. I gave each side a little pep talk about being civil and sharing the space, and we let it rip.

My job during the day was to shoot the concert, upload photos after every band to the Farm Aid website for media use, and upload images to Getty several times during the show. I also had to handle contest winners who paid money in an online auction to sit in the pit during their favorite act. And make sure that the press photographers worked together. If that part didn’t work, we would have had to go back to dividing the photographers into groups and only allowing people in the pit for two songs of each artist.

The process worked swimmingly!! Photographers all worked together. I had to give then a little pep talk halfway through so they shared the space equitably, but most people thought the access was fine- better than spending half the show in a holding room under the stands!

The show was great. The four main acts, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews all put on great shows, and some of the newer acts were fabulous:

Robert Francis, a Los Angeles based singer- songwriter, Will Dailey, a Boston based singer- songwriter with a great rocking band,and Rebecca Pidgeon, a Scottish actress (who is also married to David Mamet) and singer were all supurb.

One of the highlights was Willie’s son Lukas, who has the guitar chops of a seasoned blues guy with a very soulfull voice reminiscent of his father. He kicked some ass!

A good time was had by all and a lot of money was raised to help farmers!!

A quote from a friend of mine who photographed Paul McCartney and Barack Obama in the same week (last week):

It was less hassle to get credentials, we got to shoot from much closer, for longer, and there were less restrictions for the President of the United States then Paul McCartney. What does this say about the music industry??

On another note, this is the 30^th anniversary of the founding of MTV. I remember having a drink at the bar after a Cheap Trick show 30 years ago with the local Epic Records promo guy. His name John Sykes. He told me he was quitting his job to help start a new business, along with a guy named Bob Pittman, who at the time was the program director of a country radio station in Chicago. His description of the business was this:

We are going to play videos of rock bands all day long- just like a radio station with visuals. I, of course, told him it was a lousy idea and he should keep his job in Chicago. Shows how smart I am! During the beginning time I did a lot of work with MTV, flying out to Los Angeles to shoot stills for a live “Alarm at UCLA” concert and a couple of days with Styx and Martha Quinn in Chicago.

John and Bob are now two of the most powerful guys in the music business:

John:

Sykes was instrumental in creating MTV some 25 years ago (makes me feel old, alright) as well as serving as President of VH1, which he rebranded and “lead to record audience ratings and profits, from 1994-2002″. He also spent time as Chairman and CEO of Infinity Broadcasting before returning to MTV Networks in 2005 as President Network Development.

Bob:

Pittman is now the Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for Clear Channel Radio

Nice guys finish first! Even though I believe that MTV was the first step in ruining music photography. As soon as bands started shooting videos, they wanted to look like their videos in all of their photos. That brought out the first three songs rule.

Someone just sent me Taylor Swift’s contract for her currant tour. The contract starts out with the “usual” You can only shoot the second and third song, and you can only license images to one publication. Then it gets weird (nothing new here though!!) Here are some of the details:

5. If any provision hereof is breached, all rights granted herein shall be immediately and automatically rescinded, and the undersigned acknowledges that any use of the Photographs other than as specifically permitted hereunder shall cause irreparable harm, injury, damage and expense, and FEI shall be entitled to equitable relief in addition to any other right or remedy FEI and/or the person(s) appearing in the Photographs (“Subjects”) may have in the event  of a breach.

The question I always ask is: Can someone define why a photograph in a magazine would cause irreparable harm, injury, damage and expense. Unless someone got a naked picture of Ms. Swift (and I am pretty sure she wears underwear on stage, unlike rock stars of the past like Grace Slick and Tori Amos) I think it would be really difficult to stand in front of a judge and try to explain why a picture of Taylor Swift singing into a microphone would cause irreparable harm, injury, damage and expense.

Question #2 It further states that her company (FEI) shall be entitled to equitable relief in addition to any other right or remedy FEI and/or the person(s) appearing in the Photographs (“Subjects”) may have in the event  of a breach. How is that determined? Does the photographer owe her $5.00? Or $100,000.00? Who determines what that relief should be? Also, I always understood, with a limited knowledge of the law, that one cannot ask for “relief” unless the amount of relief is stated in the contract before it is signed.

6. Should the undersigned fail to fully comply with this Authorization, Artist’s or FEI’s representatives shall be permitted to confiscate and/or destroy his/her film and eject him/her from the venue, in addition to any other remedy of FEI, Artist and/or any of the Subjects. The undersigned and the Publication jointly and severally shall indemnify and hold FEI, and the Subjects harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, injury, damage, and expenses incurred by any or all of them arising out of this Authorization and/or the undersigned’s attendance at the concert/venue. The undersigned and the Publication hereby release FEI, Artist and Subjects, and their affiliates and representatives from and against any and all liability arising out of this authorization and/or the undersigned’s attendance at the concert/venue.

Question: Does any other remedy mean that they can beat you up after taking your film? Just asking!!

Last Thursday, I accompanied 9 kids from a literacy organization called 826chi http://www.826chi.org/ down to a world music concert in downtown Chicago. They were working on a week long photography project as a summer program. My job was to teach them concert photography.

So I arranged through Mike Orlove and Jill Hurwitz of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for the kids to get photo passes for a band from Niger called Etran Finatawa. They got on the train and met me at the venue, where they were all given passes and were told that they could shoot the whole show (last time that will ever happen to them!

Then I gave them a half hour talk about shooting a concert. It was very cool to watch them shooting the show, the dancers in the audience, and the venue itself. I heard that their pictures came out great!

I blasted out of there as soon as the show was over and headed out to the suburbs to photograph Mana, one of my favorite bands even though the entire show is in Spanish and I don’t understand a single word coming from the stage! They are a great four piece rock band, aided by a few backup musicians and for part of the show an eight piece string section. Nicer people are hard to find in this business.

All in all a great night!

Many people have responded (but almost no publicists). Here are excerpts from some of the responses:

From Mark Pucci   Mark Pucci Media

Great to hear from you! Thanks for sending your story in the new issue of Elmore. Your pix accompanying the story perfectly illustrate what great live concert photography is all about – capturing the moment. It is sad when controlling managers/labels/artists/publicists dictate what you have to go through these days to work your art; and I certainly agree with your assessment as to where things have gotten. It’s weird that professional photographers are put through such restrictions, yet the deluge of crappy YouTube video shot from fans in the audience that proliferates these days on the web is some of the worst stuff I’ve ever seen.
I’m fortunate as a publicist to have worked with a label such as Capricorn Records in the ’70s, and again in the ’90s when we didn’t subscribe to that form of censorship fro the most part. I’m equally fortunate in that now all the artists my company works with are in the non-mainstream music genres such as blues, folk, alternative country, roots and soul, where creative photo coverage is encouraged and restrictions for photographers at concerts are pretty much non-existent, even at the big festivals where these artists perform.

From Jean-Christophe Swiss photographer

A good thing is that the sun is actually shining outside my window, as I try recovering from so much accurate bitterness and longing for a time when stage photographers were allowed to make their job with passion, and their work was praised and cherished. From my little experience it’s hard today, but having not lived in the “golden times”, I continue to be fed (intellectually only, most of the time) by the unique expression sometimes offered to my eye. To live from stage pictures is hard, even in a small country like mine (switzerland), but I will continue up to just before the moment when I would not love my subjects any more. I hope that I will give you a bit of my young+crazy optimism with this comment

From Richard Derk / Picture Editor, Los Angeles Times

It’s sad to see the good old days recede as fast as our hairlines. You are correct that people who work for a non-living wage only destroy their own futures. It’s also true that there is a lack of quality in much of the digital flotsam about today.  It’s always been about relationships that develop over time, over multiple assignments. The only time I’m OK with getting older is when I realize that the time I came up in, newspaper wars in Chicago, access to do good work etc. were thrilling times. Good work and people are still about but there’s a lot of undergrowth to cut through.

From Rick Gould West coast photographer

I walked into a show by some “legendary” artists a couple weeks ago.  I was told we would not be shooting in the pit (it bothered the performers) but we would be “reasonably close”.  When myself and several other photographers were ushered into this very nice venue, we were placed up against the wall at the very back of the hall.  I looked at the publicist and said nicely, “I wasn’t prepared to be so far away.”  She said, “Well this is all the promoter is giving us.”  I took off my photo pass and handed it to her, thanked her kindly and left.  As I was walking out she said, “Don’t you even want to stay for the show?”  “No, thanks” I said, “I drove three hours to get here on a day I could have been with my kids, or working on another project at my studio…and if I can’t do my job properly, I’d rather just make it an early night.”

I remember having the same chat with Jim Marshall and a lot of other guys.  We all agree that if we can’t work the way we need to work and are given the courtesy we deserve to do our job properly, then we’d rather just stay at home and leave it to the digital point-and-shooters.  We got into this because of the music, the freedom and the ability to creatively express ourselves and document/archive for generations to come.  Now it has been reduced to something crass and common and uninteresting in many cases. There are some great new photographers that have come out of this era, too…but most of them would agree with me about the way things are headed.

From Janet Macoska Cleveland based photographer

Andy Leach, who runs the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives, read your article in ELMORE magazine and sent me a PDF to read.  FABULOUS!!!  Wish everyone in the music biz, publicists, magazines, etc….could read this.

I pretty much have taken the same path as you in that I spend a lot of time marketing my archives.  I do shoot for the Rock Hall.

More to come next week.

Last week, I talked about the article that I wrote for Elmore Magazine. It opened the floodgates. Many emails, many responses (posted on last weeks blog post) and many phone calls. Next week I will start excerpting some of the emails. Several issues seem to be consistent:

1. Almost all of the photographers of my generation that contacted me are not shooting very much any more, if at all (I realized earlier in the week that this might be the biggest week of music in Chicago’s history, and I am not picking up a camera at all this week, except to shoot some pictures of a friend’s 12 year old daughter busking at a farmers market this Saturday morning- NO RESTRICTIONS AND NO CONTRACT!!!) Meanwhile, I am skipping U2, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, The Van’s Warped Tour, and 38 bands at the Dave Matthews Caravan.

2. Most people blame the problems of these times on the introduction of digital photography. I think they are only partially right. Photography is photography- it doesn’t matter what the medium is. The same skills apply. The big difference is that digital makes it much cheaper to be an entry lever photographer. $400.00 buys you a professional quality camera, and there is no film or processing expenses. So…. Rather than a magazine hiring a photographer, they just go out  and buy a camera and give it to a writer to take along and get some photos! Or, the amateur with a small DSLR finds out that he or she can get a photo pass and be in the front row, AND see their name next to a picture in a magazine or on a website, and presto- they are a professional. Many problems with this- the biggest one being that they don’t care if they get paid, basically devaluing photography down to zero. More to come in the following weeks

Talking about the aforementioned U2, who were in town earlier this week, someone forwarded me an email with instructions for photographing the show. Here are a few interesting points:

Still cameras:
·        Located in secondary barricade.
·        First three songs, no flash.
·        Suggested lens size between  75-200 (no larger).
·        Equipment: no tripods or monopods permitted.

So, here is how I see it. They first tell you that you will shooting from a distance. Then they tell you what lens you can bring (one that is not long enough to shoot from that distance and get anything good) Then they tell you that even if you bring a lens longer than what the require, you can’t bring a tripod or monopod. I for one cannot hand hold a 300mm lens, especially under low light conditions in a crowd. I was told that the light during the first three songs sucked. So, maybe they should have just told everyone to stay home. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

My question would be: If U2 were invited to play the Grammy’s live on TV, and they received an email the day before the show, telling them that The Edge had to play a Fender guitar and that Larry could not play with cymbals on his kit, how would they respond. So where do they get off telling photographers what equipment they could use. Pretty soon there will be no Nikon or no Canon rules. Where will this stop?

I have been writing this blog once a week for a little over two years now, so I want to do a little recap:

The photography climate in the music business has gotten much worse in those two years!

The equation:

1. You go to the show and are told that you can only shoot the first three songs (If you are lucky). Could be two songs, or one song, and in some cases the first thirty seconds of the show. After that small amount of time, you are escorted out of the venue.
2. In most cases these days, you are told that you have to shoot from the soundboard or the back of the hall
3. You are asked to sign a contract allowing you to license an image to only one publication (NO stock agencies allowed)
4. Also included in this contract is a clause that gives the artist you are photographing the copyright and ownership to your images.

So……..

1.   You drive or taxi to the venue. Parking about $25.00 Taxi about $40.00

2.  You spend a minimum of $75.00 to rent a long enough lens to shoot  a mediocre shot.

3.   You then spend about six hours of your time and labor driving to and from the show, shooting, editing and sending out your images.

What you end up with are a bunch of mediocre photographs that a photo editor will look at and say “ Too bad we didn’t hire a better photographer. AND YOU WILL LOSE MONEY ON THE DEAL!!

So why is it that when I go to a show these days (very infrequently) I see five to ten photographers there? Why did they sign the contract and put up with these rules?

A few months ago, a friend of mine who publishes Elmore Magazine asked me to write an article about this subject for her magazine. It can be found HERE. Please read it and let me know what you think. Tell me if I can use your name and website. I am trying to compile as many responses as I can (please no horror stories- we have heard enough of them). Just simple facts about why you do what you do, and what you think about this issue.

In the late 1980’s I started working with a gallery in Colorado. About a year later, they asked me to be in a group show with Henry Diltz and Baron Wolman. So, one day I flew out to Denver, was picked up by the owners of the gallery, and that day I met the two other photographers, giants in the industry. I couldn’t have been treated with more respect! For the first time, I felt like I belonged in that fraternity. The stories flew back and forth (not many from me), and over the course of the weekend we agreed to trade prints.

To this day, I have both Henry and Baron’s images hanging in my living room. Henry’s an outtake from the session for the first Crosby Stills and Nash cover, and Baron’s a very simple portrait of a young Miles Davis sitting in his living room.

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone there is a story about a book being published of Baron’s work, including some of his classic work (he was the first staff photographer of Rolling Stone Magazine). His photographs show unlimited access and an eye for capturing a simple moment. He only worked with music for about three years, then went on to other things. I wonder what he would think of what we are going through today.

Also……….

I have always said that the greatest subject that has ever appeared in front of my camera was Bruce Springsteen (and the E Street Band). A large part of that was due to the interaction between Bruce and Clarence Clemons. Clarence passed away this week. He will be remembered as a massive talent, and one of the most visual performers to ever walk a rock and roll stage. He will be missed.