American Made Tour

Happy Monday to you and I trust you had an enjoyable weekend!

It will most likely come as no surprise to all that I have a love and passion for both photography and music. Growing up in a musical family set me up at an early age to enjoy many genres of music and after testing the waters I realized that being a musician, as much as I dreamed of being a rock star, may not be in the cards for my future. In college I turned to the visual arts and found that it was the prefect fit for me and for finding my path in music. Having grown up in that world it just felt like I was meant to be part of that scene and photography gave me that ticket. While working at my college newspaper I came to realize that there was no concert that we could not have access to and we took advantage of traveling the roads of Florida photographing bands such as Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Frampton and David Bowie (showing my age here) in every city including our own.

Fast forward to this past week when I was asked to shoot a concert for iHeart Media / WDRM Radio. After all these years I still get an adenaline rush when I go to shoot a music event. Generally speaking, like Bob Euker would say, you get the “front row” acccess, as close as you can get without being part of the band. You get up close and personal in front of the barriers that separate you from the thongs of fans pressing closer and closer to find their spot for the moment. Or not! In todays market, the promoters and handlers of the bands sometimes feel protecting the bands trademark far out weighs your comfort zone and such was the case for the “American Made Tour” with country musicians Brett Young, Lee Brice and headliner, Justin Moore. Not necessarily house hold names for some of us but do not tell that to their ardent fans …. They cheered and sang along with the trio of bands – All Night Long.

Access to a concert and shooting does not always go as planned and once there I found myself getting the details that I was not getting up close and personal but was relegated to the “front of the house” and only allowed to shoot the first three songs of each set. The three song rule is nothing knew but the front of the house means you are shooting from the floor or the side wings. Not my favorite thing to do jostling with the fans that for the most part tend to be somewhat taller then me. Once I find my spot, the 6’10” fan with date just feels the need to get her a little closer and ends up in front of me. So with that in mind I went to plan B, this not being my first rodeo, to embrace my banishment from the “front row” rock star status and deal with it the best I could.

I say all of this to comment, as a photographer, you have to roll with the punches and sometimes adversity creates opportunity. As I looked to the stage I realized there were so many things going on around me that really helped tell the story of the concert, how current technology is now such an integral part of our current social structure and as I found out, introducing young fans to current music is alive and well. I was introduced to music at a very young age and I have never lost my appreciation for music or the talents of these individuals that do what they do and allow me to live my life with music as, my proverbial background. There is not a time I can relocate that music does not play some role in life’s memorable moments.

The good news is I came away extremely excited about the imagery I was fortunate enough to capture and for the most part unharmed by the jostling of the ardent country fans that attended these concerts. Like the Rolling Stones sang, “You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometime you find, You get what you need!” On this night I think I found what I needed! Many thanks to WDRM and iHeart Media for giving me the opportunity to once again chase my youth. ENJOY!