Music – Page 5 – Photogeek Blog

Our Gang @ Santos Party House

I’ve been hearing about Santos Party House for a while now but had never gotten a chance to catch a show there. Hearing that old friends and New York Hardcore Veterans Our Gang were playing with Agnostic Front finally gave the chance to. Our Gang weren’t one of the huge names on the scene back in the 80’s but they were certainly one of the best. Members went on to play with bands such as Born Against, Citizens Arrest, Hell No and Sleeper/Serpico. More than Twenty years after it’s initial release their “Uprising” Demo has finally made it’s way to vinyl. Pick up a couple of copies. Our Gang “Uprising” LP

Don’t let Evan Dando near your Bandwith.

Friendship, Humor, Maxwells, Music, Uncategorized

This morning while checking my email I noticed there was one from Ben Deily of Varisty Drag (also known for being co-founder and at one time shared vocal duties in the Lemonheads.). I got to see the band and meet Ben and his wife Lisa. After the show we talked and doing an interview in the near future for Unite came up. He told me he’d be sending me some of the bands albums when they got home. A few days later I emailed him to say hello and remind him to send said package. Good thing becuase he forgot. A week passed but nothing. So I sent a second reminder. What followed was one of the best and funniest reasons it had gone unsent. “Me getting laid out with the flu for 3 days (I’m just back at work for the first time all week this AM)…the last of which coincided with a visit from Evan Dando, which took up all my limited remaining bandwidth… :-D” All I can say in response is “Damn you Evan Dando.” Here are some pictures from their set at Maxwells. Thanks to Ben and Lisa. They were incredibly nice. It was a pleasure to meat them both.

The Wait play a free show in Jersey City.

Music

Late last night I headed over to Jersey City to catch The Wait play a free show at a local bar on Marin Blvd. My buddy Brian Macko had contacted me a few weeks ago saying “I really want you to interview this band.” All this before I had even heard them or even knew who they were. After receiving their demos I was intrigued but wanted to see them live before I made any sort of commitment. Later that week I drove to Dingbatz in Clifton to check them out. Once again they did not disappoint. Though they their sound has it’s roots in Hardcore. The sound is much more mature with plenty of different approaches and angles thrown in. When I got the invite to last nights show I was more than happy to stop by. The bar was crowded and intimate and the band put on another inspiring set. I gto to talk to some of the guys seperately throughout the night and can’t wait to set up an interview for my site. But before that I thought I’d post a couple of shots to share. Look for an interview and more images in the upcoming weeks on http://unitewebzine.com/Home.html

Wishing Maurice (Mo Cash) Vega a Happy Birthday

Friendship, Hardcore, Music

I wanted to start the month of September off right by wishing my long time friend Mo Vega a very Happy Birthday. Growing up in the same neighborhood. Sharing a lot of the same experiences. Starting bands and fanzines around the same time and running around with some crazy (but good) friends. I recently reconnected with Mo after twenty years. It felt as if not a day had passed. Theses days he keeps himself busy with his band Accidental Tribe, producing, engineering and of course his graphic design. I was always lucky to be surrounded by a lot of creative, artistic people. Mo definitley falls into that file. Happy Birthday bro.

Love,

James Unite

Four Fingers and Bombay dirty up Montclair.

Canon lenses and equipment, Friendship, Music

Sometimes a band reminds you of why you go out to shows and still get a rush of blood to the head when it all clicks. Last night I was reminded twice when I got to see Bombay and Four Fingers at the Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ.Bombay features two members from Four Fingers (Chris and Jeff) with Chris switching from drums to the bass. I didn’t get the name of the drummer but he does most of the singing while bashing away on the skins. Bombays sound brings me back to some of the more experimental indie and post core bands of the nineties blended with a good dose of late eighties Dischord. I couldn’t help but think how well they’d fit onto a nice round 7 inch.

After heading over to Jakes for a beer I returned in time for Four FIngers set. This show kicks off their mini tour and despite a case of Montezumas Revenge I would not have missed it for all the Pepto Bismol in Montclair. I had met Tohm at a Reagan Youth show a few years back and immediately formed an easy friendship. Fast Forward to 2010 and I got a chance to interview the band a few blocks away a few months ago. He is currently being offered the vocalist role with Reagan Youth. FF play fast paced Punk with a ton of energy and plenty of crowd interaction. Tohm is an animal on stage while the rest of the band kick some serious ass. Since the interview they’ve added a fourth member to play Bass. Freeing Tohm to be even more of an animal. The band kicked off their tour with a new 7 inch in tow.

Congratulations to the band on the new record, the tour and the stellar set last night. All the best.

Oh shit, has it really been a month?

Beauty, Music, Portraiture

Another month gone and I realize how much I’ve been neglecting this blog as of late. It’s not a case of nothing doing, nothing to talk about. I can assure you of that. This past month has given me it’s share of adventure, opportunities and challenges. My website UniteWebzine.com has kept me very busy. So much so I’m starting to look for contributors to lighten the load. I recently become the admistrator for SOHO Photo Galleries Facebook page and have become a contributer to Jersey Beat. Writing and photography have been my strong suits for some time now. As I find myself doing more and more of both I’m seeing a very strong connection. I’ve noticed that my approach to portraiture and interviewing musicans and such the same. Building a trust and slowly peeling away the layers. I know I won’t be able to get what I need unless I invest the time to really get to know the person inside. I see both my photography and interviewing style grow and evolve. I guess I’d like to become more of a story teller than just ask the random “So tell me about the new album and tour.” I find it easy gaining trust with the people I photograph. It’s a lot harder with bands and artists. I find the best interviews I’ve done were never at gigs. There’s just too much going on and everyone seems to be talking over one another. The times when I’ve really gotten to know the artist is when we were just relaxing over a beer, burger or burritto. Just as in my portaiture I’d rather do one in depth interview than ten random “What are your influences. What made you choose the bands goofy name?” That’s where I see myself and my work going. That’s my take on it.

Canon 50 mm 1.4 USM and goodbye to annoying flash.

Canon lenses and equipment, Music

Here it is Memorial Day weekend and Spring is finally starting to show itself. With the warmer weather comes more opportunities to get out, see friends and enjoy what we enjoy most “Live Music”. A lot of the bands I worshipped and became friends with as a kid are reuniting, playing shows and releasing new material. After a two-year hiatus I’ve decided to go back to working on my online Zine Unite. In a matter of a month or so I’ve managed to do a half-dozen interviews and line up stuff for the upcoming months. With every week bringing new shows and events I went out and picked up the Canon 50mm 1.4 USM. It’s a good sturdy lens that has allowed me to leave the flash (and the worries that go along with it at home. It’s given me some really great results. Being able to open the lens all the way to F1.4 and crank up that ISO. It can get grainy but gives it a nice look. There’s also the important bonus of not blinding the band or the crowd. I think I might however want to get a wider angle next time as 50 doesn’t allow me to get too close or too far away for that matter. the Canon 24 mm looks like a possibility. For now I’m looking forward to using it exclusively at shows and in situations that call for shooting is low light or situations where flash is off limits.

Joe Coffee and a host of others @ Dingbatz in Clifton

Music

On January 2nd my buddy Chris and I decided to brave the below freezing temperature and ring in 2010 with some live music. Cold, hungry and thirsty we gassed up the Civic and headed to Dingbatz in Clifton for (in particular)Joe Coffee and a host others. As usual we arrived early so we grabbed a couple of seats at the bar and just watched as the people began to come in from the cold.

Next up were another NY band Step to Far. I remember meeting their singer Frank in the 90’s down at CBGB’s. He was always a familiar face and a friend on the scene. On this particular night he was doubling on sound while also fronting his band. Step 2 Far brought some gold old NYHC to Jersey on this particular night. Just in case those Jersey kids forgot who was runnin’ shit. Nice seeing Frank. It’s been a while now. Maybe since the closing of CBGB’s.

By the time Joe Coffee took the stage I was a bit snoggered but steady on my feet. As Paul and the band took the stage I felt a slight crack in the concrete as the world seemed to shift on it’s axis. I had not witnessed Paul Bearer’s greatness since his days fronting Sheer Terror but have had Joe Coffee’s “As bright as the stars we’re under” on heavy rotation for some time now. Needless to say the man is an ominous, dark anti-hero. Yet he still has this “favorite yet oft hidden uncle meets W.C. Fields” quality. With all that said Joe Coffee is a band to be reckoned with. Mixing so many different styles. Call them Punk. Call them Hardcore. But I’d best describe them as brutally honest Rock n’ Roll. In between songs Paul went on lengthy rants while drinking a bottle of gin. Brutally honest, spiked with humor, fueled by booze. I’m glad the years haven’t softened him.

Last and not least were the Hub City Stompers. I’ve been hearing about this band for quite some time now but finally got to see for myself what everyone was talking about.After the dark cloud (and I say this with great respect) that Joe Coffee brought. This band was definitely what the crowd needed to send the crowd home on a very high and positive high. The Hub City Stompers hailing from that great band factory New Brunswick keep that great Reggae/Ska/Oi beat going strong. Great musicianship and a contagious energy. They had the whole place showing love. I love a show when you have bands who bring different styles and moods. This was a really good example of it. I think all of the taste buds were refreshed with this one. It was good seeing a familiar face in Brian Macko and meeting the guys from the band Feet First. The ride back to Hoboken was an adventure and story in itself. Flirting with the Dunkin Donuts girl at 3:00 am and Chris’s Jack Daniel’s fused jibba jabba. One of those nights that reminds why live music will always be a special part of our lives.

Scream reunion @ the Black Cat in Washington D.C.

Music

When I got home late the other night there was a message from my old friend Freddy letting me know their was an extra ticket and seat for the ride down to D.C. for the reunion of the band Scream. It was an automatic and enthusiastic “YES” for me. I had been craving a road trip over the last couple of weeks and the opportunity to see the legendary Scream was as good an excuse as it gets. Though the weather called for snow I hoped for the best and kept my fingers crossed. Saturday came and the snow came as forecasted (imagine that, an accurate weather forecast.) The snow came and kept on coming. By the time Freddy called me Saturday night it had turned into a blizzard. Freddy’s voice did not sound good. “I don’t know man. The snow is pretty bad. I heard that D.C. is blanketed in it. I don’t know if I want to go.” I know how he felt but asked that he wait until the morning to decide. The next morning I was jolted by the phone. It was Freddy again. “We’re going. Meet us at Great Jones at noon. I jolted out of bed, got dressed and headed to the city. Freddy Alva, Mark Ryan, Nikki Sneakers and yours truly packed into Dave Steins car and headed out. Prior to our leaving I had pictured the cover of the D.C. benefit compilation “State of the Union” where homeless men are covered in tattered blankets while covered in snow. In all honesty I pictured us going 20 miles and hour in Antarctica like temperatures and Siberian snow drifts. But the roads were clear and there was no traffic to be seen. Within a few hours we’d be in D.C. The trip was pretty uneventful. Dave and Freddy in the front Me, Nikki and Mark in the back. Bad Brains and Cromags playing on the iPod. Eventually we arrived in D.C. and found a spot right in front of a good record store a few blocks from the club. I scored an Urban Blight and an Undertones record while Nikki seemed to make a serious killing. After that it was over to Busboys and Poets where we were joined by more people for dinner. B&P is a combination book store, bar and restaurant with some great books and even better food. I highly recommend the catfish btw.

Afterwards we headed up the block to the Black Cat for what would be an amazing night. What were originally scheduled to be four bands were narrowed down to two. Rust Buckit and Scream. Rustbuckit which features for members of Black Market Baby were a good teaser. Playing balls out rock ‘n roll that the crowd really got into. They had a good presence and got everyone whipped up. As the set ended I noticed the club was filling up quickly and from there I never looked back.

For the record Scream was perhaps the last of the great D.C. bands of the 80’s that I fell in love with. That said I have done a lot of catching up over the years. The band fired into a set that was powerful, emotional and memorable. The bands energy coupled with the crowds response were impossible to contain. Pete paced back and fourth on the stage belting out a set that was an even mix of old and new songs. Skeeter plucking away on his bass and Franz firing his guitar. I heard a few comments about them playing too many new songs but if you ask me the crowd was too whipped up to mind. When the band returned for an encore they were joined by none other than Brian Baker on guitar. My mind was blown. The crowd became even more frenzied and the bodies started flying off the stage. I remember seeing a sign that read “No stage diving or crowd surfing allowed. You will be thrown out.” But by that time it didn’t seem to matter. The night was just about over. Elated and exhausted we headed home. Special thanks to Dave Stein fro driving and the door to door service. It was much appreciated.

Dave Stein later had this to say and I couldn’t agree more.

“Taking a road trip like this just confirmed to me how important not just music is to my life, but LIVE music. I’ve hitchhiked, taken buses, flown, crammed in vans and trucks and cars to see bands I love and I look forward to having the reason to do it again.”