Metal

January 24th, 1982 in Rosement, Illinois. I was hired to photograph Don Airey, Ozzy’s keyboard player, who played out of view of the audience, so I had to photograph him at sound check. I was going to leave after that to go home to watch the Super Bowl, but Ozzy’s publicist suggested that I watch it backstage and then shoot the show. This moment happened about half way through the show, and became the most used photo that I have ever taken! It has been on an album cover, a poster, a T shirt, a billboard and on the cover of every guitar magazine in the world (on some more than once).

October 5th, 1984 in Rosemont, Illinois. Always one of the most energetic and colorful performers around, even before he joined Van Halen.

November 5th, 1989 in Rosemont, Illinois. Getting the timing right to capture one guy flying through that air is the definition of “the defining moment.” Getting three guys in the air requires a lot of luck.

December 19th, 1987 in Chicago. Guns and Roses were in town opening for Alice Cooper. I had never heard of them, but their publicist suggested that they were going to be “really big” so I brought them into the room where I was getting ready to photograph Alice, and did a quick session with them. The publicist was right!

June 11th, 1984 in Rosemont, Illinois. Judas Priest has always been one of my favorite bands to photograph. Quiet and mild mannered offstage, they become raging maniacs when they hit the stage. Rob and Glen are two of the most animated people I have ever photographed.

November 1st, 1985 in Rosemont, Illinois. Their Merchandiser asked me to do a photo for a “door poster”. The assignment was to format the photo to fit on a poster that a fan could tape to the back of their bedroom door. It made sense to pose them in a doorway!

July 13th, 1986 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The band was opening for Ozzy Osbourne, and I was doing a shoot with him, so I brought them in before Ozzy came in. Good idea on my part!!

May 20th, 1984 in Rosemont, Illinois. Very high energy on stage and a dream to photograph!!

February 16th, 1984 in Chicago. Gene Simmons of Kiss shows off one of his most impressive body parts. Gene loved to pose for photographers. Sometimes I think he forgot he was playing a show because he was too busy posing.

March 16th, 1986 in Rockford, Illinois. Eddie flying through the air. This follows my thought that when someone climbs up on something on stage, there are only 2 ways for them to get down, and one of them is going to look really lame. (This is the other one).

August 20th, 1984 in Des Moines, Iowa. I first photographed them at the US Festival in Ontario, California. I was one of the only photographers to get there early enough to photographed their opening set. I then became friends with them and photographed them every time they came to Chicago (and elsewhere in the midwest). They were one of the most colorful bands on the scene at that time.

March 13th, 1987 in Chicago. Jon Bon Jovi performs on the “Slippery When Wet” Tour.

December 21st, 1984 in Rosemont, Illinois. Dee Snider posed for this photograph before a Twisted Sister show. No wonder he became a horror movie actor!