You know those moments when you can’t stop grinning? That was me last night. I was at the Roundhouse in Camden with Seventh Circle Artworks (SCA) shooting with both Down and their main support band Orange Goblin. In my time of shooting shows, I have snapped Orange Goblin live maybe 3 or 4 times, so was really looking forward to actually meeting them in person for a brief promo shoot. They were all quite happy despite not liking their pictures taken, just like many guys in bands I work with. They also joked about how all their promo pictures seem to be around or near a bar. After a couple of semi-serious poses I asked them to do something funny. The only thing they could come up with was to “punch Joe in the face!” Ben is a towering 6ft 4 (at least), but a very friendly guy with it. And yes, I would have needed a step ladder to speak to him at eye level. This is not a Marie’s eye view, but you get the idea on height ;) Oh yeah, In case you were wondering about the killer shirt Ben is wearing, it’s the latest SCA shirt […]
Firstly I was very fortunate to even make Hellfest. I had my ears syringed and unfortunately the doctor didn’t do it correctly resulting in a perforation in my left ear drum. An infection got in which left me with a swollen face, couldn’t eat or anything and some hearing impairment which I’m hoping will heal. I was on codeine and paracetamol and 3 lots of strong antibiotics. Still, me being a stubborn me bought some pro earplugs and went on my way to France – after all I had it all booked and wasn’t going to miss out. I initially was to write a diary-like entry on here but didn’t want to bore you all with my drivel. So here’s the festival trip in brief: THURSDAY/FRIDAY…. • Killer of a journey – 11 hours all told from London – Lille – Kortrijk – Clisson. • Glorious sunshine and very impressive visuals at the festival. Arrived slightly later into the Friday – Buckcherry were on and playing ‘Crazy Bitch’. What a nice welcome :) • Friday I shot – Voivod, W.A.S.P., Anthrax, Papa Roach and Down • Hung with Parkway Drive who are awesome dudes. I think they used their meal tickets […]
A special trip for this shoot as my daughter Beth ‘MegaBeth’ as she calls herself, came with me for her first live show and photo shoot experience. Down were in town and I was shooting alongside friends Cindy and Rudy arranged by Roadrunner Europe. Venues are very different in Europe, you only get a few scattered fans outside the venue early and bands seem to be more chilled and willing to meet fans than in big cities like London. It was refreshing to see actually. We got to the venue and Down were sound checking. I took Beth in and we sat on the floor by the sound desk to watch. They were getting the levels right to ‘In the Thrall of it All’. Phil wasn’t happy with how the sound was so they took quite a bit of time on stage. I then got a call saying to get ready for the shoot. I took Beth backstage and we were told to set up the lights on the stage and have the amps as a background, I really liked that idea. Rudy took his pictures first, then Cindy then it was my turn. Phil turned and said to me […]
