G is for Goodtimes

Denim + Leather = rock n' roll, it's a simple equation.

The Goodtimes are from Southend, last time I took their picture we were under a pier and a local yokel started mouthing off.  The response 'Last night I had your mum', didn't go down so well, he said he was going to kill us.  At this point I'm thinking save the camera, run for the hills and they're taunting him some more. ha, er goodtimes ; )
This time I agreed to take photos only on the condition we did it somewhere safe, not sure where Kensington at 11pm came into it.  There's absolutely no light on the main drag, just expensive shops and no-one on the street, it's a fancy ghost town.  Did finally find a couple cool spots down in the tube station and by Marble Arch...

Oh! Inverted World at The Old Queens Head

Dawned on me today that I've been a bit of a hermit last couple weeks but that's about to change.  Seeing Phoenix for the first time tomorrow at Brixton Academy, can't wait!  Then Yuksek & Delphic in Old Street on Sat, I'm DJing with OIW crew on Monday at Ginglik and.... best of the bunch Oh! Inverted World returns to Old Queens Head on 11th November for a proper folky hoe down, we have Treetop Flyers, Mariners Children and Player Piano playing.  nice, nice, nice!

I have a strange love of paper and have tons of different colours and textures stashed away up in a cupboard with a bunch of old maps and travel guides.  Cue me grabbing the paper and everything else falling on my head! shit. Tidied up, got busy with my scissors and harked back to the summer...

Worship

Here's a few photos from a shoot I did last week with a new band, Worship, taken on a roof in Kensington High Street, London.  The building opposite has become one of my absolute favourites, it's offices for charities and local government and think it's a case of being so ugly it becomes likeable.  For ages have wanted to get in there and take some shots of it's dusty corridors, 70s/80s office furniture and pot plants. In fact better get on that, have heard rumours that it's going to be demolished sometime soon.

The band wanted to go with a mysterious vibe, so thought would tie in with some religious connotations.  Hence the red silk sheet from Shepherds Bush market.  There's some great and cheap fabric shops in and around the market which serve the local Asian community and students living nearby.  The market has a ghost town feel now that Westfield shopping centre has opened so pay it a visit if you can.

The last two, I got distracted and we started creating these mad shapes with the sheets. tasty : )

The Maccabees - Brixton Academy 03/Oct/09

They say 'This is the best night of our lives' and I believe them : )

Powerful, stylish and evocative the atmosphere is electrifying, not all gigs can be like this and tonight is a milestone for The Maccabees. They've played in hundreds of different venues over the past few years, working away until finally reaching this particular pinnacle. Great to see...

you can see more photos HERE

Oh Inverted World - 8th Oct

Oh! Inverted World is currently lurking in E. London, come join us on 8th October. Here's my latest attempt at flyer design, I used a new font for once ; ) OIW favourites La Shark are playing and headlining are 22 lady choir Gaggle. wow.

Shake it...

Guess it makes sense, this is from 1957, but how damn rock & roll is this, mind-blowing. Jerry Lee Lewis sending the kids wild.

In Vogue

Happy Friday! I've been snapping a great new band from Suffolk, The Cheek, and Vogue have used a couple photos on their blog. check it out..

http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/the-vogue-blog/articles/090925-the-cheek-band-london-vogue.aspx

California Sep 09

Just got back from two weeks in California, Having voted in the US elections that brought Obama to office, I was really excited to see what the atmosphere was like. It was two years and three months since the last trip for my cousins wedding and things had changed. The split between right and left is a gulf, the conservative media is in the grip of a paranoid mania, warping democracy with it's lies and exaggerations and poisoning any debate. The liberal media is too easily drowned out by this cacophony but then everyone pays attention when Obama speaks. All that rage is because people opposed to him seem so scared and young people love him. Hey he watches MTV and calls Kanye West a Jackass. I think there's still a lot of hope and belief that he can bring about some change.

That's the view from motel TV anyway. Visiting California is an intense personal experience for me, full of memories and family reunions. Seeing my old grandparents house in Davis where I spent summers growing up and now owned by strangers is a shock. But it smells the same and the figs growing there are just as sweet. Spent a lot of time retracing steps I would have taken with them, seeing some of their friends and eating, walking in the same places: The Co-op, arboretum, req pool.

Davis is basically an idyl, a liberal, bike friendly, sunny, healthy place with an active community and all those memories. It seemed a bit rougher around the edges and slightly more sun baked then I remembered it but I'm still satisfied.

The rest of California is just as mad as ever, from ridiculous wealth to street poverty, beautiful beaches, mexican food, a special kind of symmetry that you just don't get in the UK, and those huge expanses of wild space. Mountains, desert, trees and ocean. It's also incredibly friendly, patriotic and has plenty of my favourite Watermelons.

Here's s slideshow, click to view the images bigger....

The rainbow arch

South Santa Barbara has this amazing rainbow arch. It's just opposite the beach standing proud...


and here's me and nas enjoying it, I jump wierd : )

Bronx Mania

So new these guys were going to be shit hot, but now that they start their shows with Mariachi El Bronx it kind of lulls you into a relaxed mexican zone. Just when your wondering where your burrito got too and BAM! still us hyped up and crazy as always and everyone looks happy. Here's some general carnage and crowd mania. Sat 25th Aug @ Village Underground / Shoreditch

Emmy The Great...

Just heard a new track 'Edward is Dedward' by Emmy The Great, it's rollicking! Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat

And this is a good excuse for me to post my favourite pics from press shoot I did earlier in the year, and that aren't on my site yet ; )

Joshua Radin

Here's a couple photos from recent shoot with the American Singer Songwriter Joshua Radin, he'd landed up in the uk and was filming a video shoot at Ginglik in shep bush, with lots of twinkly blue lights. It used to be a public toilet and kind of retains that level of glamour. wait sorry, that's way too harsh it's actually a very cool place, but a mind f**K to try and find the entrance..

OH INVERTED WORLD - Aug 09

the amazing, the wonderous OIW @ Old Queens Head! The day I got back from Berlin so feeling super relaxed, happy and sleep deprived and we've got the best line up so far (in 18 months of nights!) Dufflefolks, Babe Shadow, She Keeps Bees, a totally rammed place and Morrisey in the house. I've still got a splinter in my finger from moving tables to remember it by. Here's a slide show, click for higher res images. There all a bit dark and blurry, kind of like my memories of it...

Berlin Whoop Whoop

Have just come back from three amazing days in Berlin for my friend's birthday. It's like London minus the crap, bankers and cramped conditions plus amazing weather, happy people, loads of open space, cheap delicious beer, and big lovely lakes (Krumme Lanken!)

nothing really beats getting a six pack, picking your own swimming spot and diving off a bit ol' tree. Felt like taking lots of pictures and had just got new supply of Portra 400VC so since I've now signed up to Picasa here's a slide show to check out...

London Bridge Festival - Photo Comp

Entered this comp, part of The London Bridge Festival, recently and was shortlisted. Check out the winning photo and get info on the festival HERE

Here's my photo...

Some wooden boards had been put up around a construction site and the sikh builders were doing some crazy maths in chalk all over them. Reminded me a bit of a Robert Frank type shot from his book The Americans.

I was composing the shot and this super stylish girl walked past, right through the frame. it was set up at 1/60sec but think the blurring and grainy feel of the 1600 Fuji neopan film worked well. Here's the board alone. wish I'd kept it, was like some kind of temporary installation art.

Delphic - 'This Momentary' (video)

check out the video for new Delphic single 'This Momentary', directed by David Ma and filmed in and around Chernobyl.

it's pure beauty, the washed out colours, camera panning and stunningly composed shots just knocked me over. There's this powerful tension of stillness v movement that permeates through it all and relates to the music and drum peals perfectly. oooh

MY HAND......

IS super long and thin! This thought hit me as I was testing the strength of a spot light while shooting the rather amiable Joshua Radin @ Ginglik / Shepherds Bush. Pictures up soon...

She Keeps Bees

If your free 11th August, then this will be fun, at the newly soundproofed but just as gorgeous Old Queens Head, Angel x

WAR CHILD @ Tabernacle - 15/07/09

So the fabled Tabernacle (Notting Hilll) has re-opened as an arts and performance centre, it looks amazing. The main room has vaulted carved beams, it's like a viking hall or something.

Where better to have 4 buzz bands playing, the highlights.... We Have Band, amazing vocals and crowd reaction. & The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band - wow, like a 70s Funk happening with flares and happy vibes. smiles all around.

Here's some photos....

The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band

We Have Band

Filthy Dukes

Soldiers for justice

Filthy DukesCrystal Fighters

Filthy Dukes Album Art

FILTHY DUKES - 'NONSENSE IN THE DARK' - ALBUM SHOOT

Was commissioned to shoot a 5ft wide giant wooden eye on location in Winspet Quarry, near Swanange. The resulting images were used as cover and booklet art for the Filthy Duke's debut album 'Nonsense In The Dark'.

An access road would have helped, the rain, mud and darkness definitely didn't but with Ollie from the band, art director Stuart and Kelly from Polydor fighting the elements it all came together. Pint of local ale in the pub that night to finish and three hours sleep in the back of the van on way back. Job done, brilliant!

check their music out HERE, and there's some live shots from a recent gig at Matter, London, included below.

Location: Winspet Quarry, near Swanage

Client: Polydor Records

Album: 'Nonsense In The Dark' (2009)