Bliss N Eso "Down by the River"....

As a Brisbanite it's very cool to be back home, but its the weirdest feeling when everything seems familiar but it all looks and feels totally different, its the same but everything including me has changed. So being back in the same places I'm finding it so random that everything is just a bit odd.... So I was in this frame of mind when I stumbled across Bliss N Eso, now I hadn't heard of them before, they didn't look like the typical hip hop MCs I was use to seeing but I saw that these guys were sold out so I looked them up. Man was I blown away, these guys are so not what I was expecting but they were good, and I mean GOOD. So I was so stoked to be able to shoot them when they came to Brisbane on their Down by the River Tour on the 20th at The Tivoli. I had just jumped off the 3 hr flight from Auckland, my bro C picked me up from the airport and we went straight to The Tiv. It was insane, I was tired, emotionally exhausted from the funeral and the flight, but also so excited to be taking on Bliss N Eso.

We got there when Mind Over Matter were hitting the stage and they were hitting it, these 2 young guys have got their head on straight they're working hard and doing it well. Truly solid. Had me jumping around....

Next up was Diafrix, now these guys brought a different flavour. They mix Hip Hop, Soul and Funk and what they bring is smooth. No other word to describe it. Had the room shaking. They were insane!

Bliss N Eso was why everyone was there and having not seen them live I wasn't sure what to expect. Man do they put on a show!! From the time they hit the stage they were on and it was non stop til the end, from Bliss' beat boxing, Eso was killing it with his intensity, man he was scary sometimes hahaha and Izm laid it down with mad beats that had the crowd in a frenzy with his mix of old school and fresh beats. It was loud and mad and definitely a night to remember!

Operator Please, Pretty lights....

We went to the EKKA ( the Royal Brisbane Show ) on the last Sat so my lil man T could get a showbag and have the experience and I had totally forgotten how much I had loved going! The people, the showbags, the fairyfloss, the noise, the smells, yes even the smells but most of all the pretty lights. Sometimes it's easy to forget all the simple pleasures that surround you, smelling the flowers, watching the sunset, listening to the wind speak through the trees, and yes I might be in a random mood but it was those pretty lights that I couldn't stop looking at and not just because they were everywhere.... because they were EVERYWHERE, but because I had forgotten just how beautiful they are.

Lots and lots of pretty lights....

Dad showing his grandbabies how to do it....

While I was there I got to shoot Operator Please, these guys might be young but they know what they're doing and they do it well. They're a band that doesn't move much which is good for me but although they don't move they know how to get the crowd moving. Their indie pop rock style is unique with a violin thrown in just incase you were wondering how mad a violin could be.

Drums and laughter....

It's been a while since my last post and although I've been busy I just haven't found the motivation I guess to write down all that I've been feeling. Last weekend we flew back to NZ to bury one of our best friends. I didn't think we would be back so soon and to come back for that was just unimaginable.... It feels like we're too young to be burying one of our friends, you know, someone who you hang with and have dinner with and stay up late being stupid and playing games with. It just felt so unreal. The last time we saw him was at the airport, he had come to see us off and I'll never forget looking back and seeing him standing there and I thought how alone he looked in that moment....

I can still picture him laughing as he talked smack when we were playing games, the excitement he felt when he would talk about his drumming, his cheekiness when he would try to throw everyone with one of his questions about life. I can still hear his laughter over the phone when I would call him dude and talk about music and oh how he would brag about getting this sweet drum beat.

 I'll miss it. The phone calls, the messages, the chats,the randomness, the laughs and the tears. I'll miss it all and we'll all miss him. But if I have learnt anything,  it's to love more, to be present more, to be available and open more. He truly was one of a kind. And if losing someone shows you how much they really meant to you it also shows you how much the ones still around you do too.

NZ still was breathtaking, it had just lost a little colour....

Impossible Odds, Home sweet home....

Brisbane, I've missed you. It's good to be back! A couple days after we moved back I got to shoot my friends record label launch at The Globe with my bro C. I've been away so long so it was great to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. Impossible Odds Records was the flavour of the night, they represent EMR, Poetic Murriz, DJ Returnagain, Gamarang and of course Impossible Odds http://impossibleoddsrecords.com/ . I'm excited to see where these guys are headed. Their style is HipHop/Soul/Fusion. They're committed to social change and social justice. It was great to see some awesome talent with a great message!

Impossible Odds, Fred laying it down....

Poetic Murriz, these guys had everyone jumping around....

EMR, smile....

EMR, awesome stage presence....

Life....

Family is important. They know bits of you that no-one else does. They see things about you that you try to hide from others. They get to watch your life evolve and change. So it was fitting that before we left we caught up with as many as we could. My boy H's grandparents are one of my favourites to visit. Firstly because he's so lucky to actually have grandparents still alive, mine have sadly all passed, but also because of the twinkle in their eye when they see us, the cheeky grins they throw us when they're looking for sweets and the joy they have when talking to their great grandson. We're blessed to have them in our lives.

This is Stan Wall aka Granddad Stan. Still working in his work shed at 91yrs young, I wanna be like him when I grow up....

Opshop....

Just before I left New Zealand I went to a couple gigs with my friend Kjirstnne. Opshop was one of them. I stood next to an older lady who loved the lead singer Jason Kerrison with a passion! I didn't know what to expect, but she assured me that they would be fantastic and that she was married to him, he just didn't know it yet.... and they delivered and more, he even threw some smiles her way. Awesome guys with the real laid back Kiwi style, look them up you wont be disappointed.

 Jason Kerrison from Opshop, ladies man :)....

Opshop, Great show, laid back and relaxed....

New Start....

So Jan 2010 was when I realised that I wanted to shoot music for a living. Music is one of the most important aspects of my life and has been forever and I love photos, have since as far back as I can remember. Always managing to cover my room or space with the photos of those I love. So that love plus being in the front row of 25,000 people and spending the whole time trying to take interesting photos while rocking out kind of cemented it for me. It might also have something to do with the great bands like Switchfoot, Family Force Five and Rapture Ruckus being fantastic showmen. All those things combined I cant really see myself doing anything else!

So here I am embarking on a brand new career, scared, nieve and slightly freaking out!

Lets see how much fun we can have! ;)


Here are some photos from Parachute 2010 Hamilton NZ.....

Rapture Ruckus, a NZ hero....

Family Force Five, killer show....

Family Force Five, up close and personal....

Switchfoot, my all time favourite....