Central Coast Songwriters Showcase 05/18/10 [San Luis Obispo Music Photography]

We had a few new faces and a couple of old standards this week at the Clubhouse. Sienna Robertson brought a crowd of her fans and rocked the stage with her dad. Ricky Montijo made a return appearance since March. Red Bullet Rising made their Clubhouse debut with the full band. Matt Hatfield was back again this week and Mike McClain and Michael Work came up with a name for their group, Hangtree.

Music Photography: Sienna Robertson

Music Photography: Ricky Montijo

Music Photography: Red Bullet Rising

Music Photography: Matt Hatfield

I'm next please!

Music Photography: Hangtree

Kaitlin & Nick [San Luis Obispo Engagement Photography]

Kaitlin and Nick drove to Pismo from Lemoore where Nick is stationed for their Engagement Session. I talked them into going to Shell Beach for a change of scenery. They loved all the different options that locations offers. We started on the beach and worked our way over to the bridge leading to The Cliffs. I especially loved the wild flowers near The Cliffs. After we went back across and used the field near our cars. We ended our session at the North side of the beach with a beautiful sunset.

Engagement Portrait: On the Bridge Overlooking the Ocean

Engagement Portrait: In Front of Wildflowers

Engagement Portrait: Under the Tree on the Beach Trail

Engagement Portrait: On the Rocks

Engagement Portrait: Walking on the Beach

Engagement Portrait: In the Field

Engagement Portrait: Sunset

Engagement Portrait: The Ring

Central Coast Fashion Week: Francisco Castro/Bloke [San Luis Obispo Photography]

I ran into my friend Freya downtown last weekend and she suggested that I shoot the Central Coast Fashion Week series at Native. I missed one show in the series but I caught Francisco Castro and Bloke this Friday. With the runway lighting I was able to shoot the whole show without using my flash. The photos turned out really great. I can't make next weeks show because I have a wedding but I will definitely be attending the show on the 29th.

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear, Blake A. Corl-Baietti

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear, Titus Jewel Shelton

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear

Fashion Photography: Bloke Menswear

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Gabrielle Rivera Valedón

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Sarah Lynn Gronski
My Favorite Dress!

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Amber Costa

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Bianca Andrea Mettler

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Jasmine Nichelle

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Kaitlyn Fitzenberger

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Melissa Feehan

Fashion Photography: Francisco Castro Design, Amber Costa with Francisco

Joe Koenig's House Concert [San Luis Obispo Music Photography]

Oh man what a crazy week. I have seriously been in my house all week catching up on the paying work. Luckily my new friends Ashley and Andrew got me out of the house last night to go to Joe Koenig's first show on his "Southwest At Your House" tour.

I must admit when I first heard about this tour a month or so ago I though, "What? So he's going to play in people's houses? Hmm..." Guess who can admit when there wrong. Yep...me. It was pretty darn awesome. First off, the house was beautiful with a spectacular view of Bishops Peak! The people hosting the show were warm, friend and seriously talented artists. Also the dog was pretty great.

Mostly though, it was nice to be in a more intimate setting during a show. I did feel a little more awkward and obtrusive taking photos. BUT the lack of drunk a-holes, who don't care about the music, bumping into me and my camera totally made up for my mild discomfort. So it looks like he will be doing these show in CA, AZ, NM, TX,CO, UT and NV through the end of May...more info here if you are interested in attending or host an event.

For those of you who haven't heard Joe, I highly suggest you check him out. He has this great Texas accent which he totally uses it to his advantage. Each of his songs is perfectly written for his voice with every break and emphasis playing into his sound. Joe's wife Chi-Chi (Bianca) and Chris Dennison joined him on the fiddle and box drum, respectively. I've probably said this before but I love those little drums...they just make me happy for some reason. And they look pretty darn cool in photos. I've seen a few people play them recently and Chris is one of, if not the, best I've seen.

Here's the sample player to get you started. #2 is my favorite. Coincidentally, this blog post has been a long time coming since I first saw Joe back in March :)

SLO Children's Museum [San Luis Obispo Photography]

I really want to talk about is my Photography by Children project with SLO Children's Museum. For about 2 years I've wanted to do a photography project with children. It started when my neice got her first kid's camera. I walked around the neighborhood with her taking photos of plants, road signs, bugs, whatever she could find. Then I bought a batch of disposable cameras to give away at bridal fairs. The kids at bridal fair always look so bored but when you give them a camera they get excited. One boy came back to my booth 3 times for another camera. Two weeks ago I decided to take the leap on this project. I started researching cameras kids can use, writing a plan and I emailed the SLO Children's Museum about helping me recruit participants. Michelle at the museum emailed me back very quickly and said she loved the idea. I met with her and we discuss just doing it through the museum in conjunction with their summer program Dig In. So now I'm working on finding some funding to pay for cameras, prints and website hosting for the project. It's all very exciting! I've decided that all the donations for the music photography I do will go to this project, so keep donating people. Now it's going to a better cause than just feeding me ;) I'll be updating everyone when the project starts.

Central Coast Songwriters Showcase 05/04/10[San Luis Obispo Music Photography]

Ok people, I am not using the phrase 'Holy Canoli!' lightly. Tuesday night was a serious night of music. I've been shooting at the Clubhouse every other Tuesday since March and I gotta say May 4th was the best line-up I've seen so far. There was a good energy, perfect flow from performer to performer and the crowd was amped (at least before the break.) I've noticed that when I like a performer or band I tend to take significantly more photos, well last night I took about 150 more than I usually do. Serious!

 Photograph of A Packed House at The Clubhouse

First off, props to Casey for being an awesome sound guy. Most people probably don't realize how much effort he really puts into it. I sit with him every time and he is constantly either working the levels or walking around the room to make sure the sound is good everywhere. He recognizes that each song is different and make appropriate adjustments. So nice job!

Close Up Photo of Casey Adjusting Sound Levels

This post is probably going to be one of the few times I talk about everyone that played. I'm sure some people were wondering why I was on my phone so damn much. I was actually taking notes about every performance. It was seriously hard to balance with the photography! Plus I've been working on this post off and on for three days. So I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up this pace for every show. Oh and once again this is not a critique. I will only be talking about what I like about each performer.

Erin Teran opened up the show and this girl is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. She opened with the bubbly and whimsical "Should've been a love song", which is also known as her mom's favorite. Honestly this girl gets down, so much so that I had a hard time keeping her in focus when shooting. She is a ball of energy and enthusiasm but somehow I can just imagine hearing her acoustic pop style while sitting around a campfire. And freakin hilarious, seriously witty lyrics and melodies! I need a recorded version of her 3rd song stat. I didn't catch the name but it is a little quip about getting "lucky" all  by yourself..."There are a lot of thing I'll miss about you/But there's just one thing that you couldn't do....I got lucky without you." She wrapped up with Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun, not a combination I would have ever imagine but actually really great. Erin has a personal Facebook page where you can catch a glimpse of a couple of videos.

Photograph of Erin Teran

Mike Glendining played next and honestly my very first thought was "WTF?" but in a good way. I've never seen any play like that. I must have looked like a total idiot picking my jaw up off the ground when he started. He plucks, he bend the neck...I have really no idea what he does but it sounds awesome...and sometimes it looks kinda crazy. He calls his unique sound grunge jazz and that really is the best term to describe it. You can hear his songs on myspace but you really have to watch a video of him playing to get a full effect. The rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow is amazing. And if you take nothing else from this blog post you have to see him play the Super Mario theme song!

Photograph of Mike Glendining

The featured act this Tuesday was December Valentine, a pretty new local band. I reserve the right to be wrong but I think they said this was their first show. However, if they hadn't told me I probably wouldn't have know because they were very tight. I couldn't find them anywhere online and I'm a pretty proficient cyber-stalker. (Edit: I found them...well technically I saw that someone else found them on Facebook.)They mentioned a few time that they are probably changing their name so that could be why they are nowhere to be found. There songs inspire dancing...literally. The front guy has a good voice, great lyrics and a smiling-happy stage presence that keeps the overall vibe very upbeat. He played 3 acoustic songs, one of which was a waltz, then switched to what he called the electric blues inspired half of the set. Casey said they sound like if Jason Mraz and John Mayer combined...I can see that.

Photograph of December Valentine Lead Singer and Bassist

Photo of December Valentine Drummer

Photograph of Dancers in the Crowd

After the break, Sanden Gocka played with Jose Espinosa. I actually just briefly saw Sanden play last Sunday at SLO Down Pub before Andrew Spearman Blake. He led with a silly Star Wars joke "May the 4th be with you." It was all uphill from there ;) Sanden has amazing voice control and projection. When he started sing "Why Why Whyd you let me go" I saw a lady at the bar gasps "holy shit" and put her glasses on to get a better view. Sanden also has Jason Mraz vibe. I really enjoy his song Perfect Storm, "We are a flaming disaster/We are a sudden catastrophy/We are a perfect storm."

Photograph of Sanden Gocka

Next, Matthias Clark took the stage again. This time with his wife Katie. Matthias was recently featured at the showcase back in March. He has a storytelling style, often he even breaks song for a quick discussion or narrative. All of his songs have a quality of being written while sitting on a porch in the mountains. This was the first set of the night that included a harmonica, one of my favorite instruments. The set ended with the soulful "The Man That Satisfies" which, with Katie, reminded me a little of Fleetwood Mac/Buchingham Nicks. Matthias has an enthusiatic stage presence. He keeps the listener on the edge of their seat by playing with such intense building pressure it seems like he might explode. It turns out that it was Matthias and Katie's 8 year anniversary on Tuesday. While discussing relationships between songs Katie said "its hard to stay together" to which Matthias replied "it's fn hard"...it was a very funny moment.

Photograph of Mathias Clark and Katie

Finally, Charlie Beaudoin and Jessica Smith took the stage. They were doing a set to promote The Big Benevolent Bash coming up next Friday at Downtown Brew. I was starting to get a headache by the time they went on so I didn't take notes but I did take video. First, I have to say Holy Shit...10,000 Maniac's cover! Natalie Merchant is not any easy voice to match but Jessica worked it. Casey joined them on the drum. This video really doesn't accurately portray the performance and sorry about the rough start...I jumped the gun. They also played Charlie's original folk song Eucalyptus, which is a great song live. You can hear a recorded version on his Reverb Nation profile along with two other original songs.
 

Photograph of Charlie Beaudoin and Jessica Smith

I really hope this post doesn't seem as chopping as it actually is. It's been a crazy couple of days and I've been hacking away at this and looking up the artists when I have spare time. - Ap

SLO Down Pub with Andrew Spearman Blake [San Luis Obispo Music Photography]



Photography of Andrew Spearman Blake with John Turner and Rocky Logue

Here I am, fresh off yesterday's Andrew Spearman Blake show and I thought this would be the perfect time to blog about music photography. Lately I've been doing a ton of photography at live shows. So I wanted to blog more about the musicians I meet, the songs I love and the amazing photography opportunities I encounter.

Ok so it's probably a little unfair that I'm writing about Andrew again since he got a strong mention in my last music blog post but it's fresh on my mind. I met Andrew at a Central Coast Songwriters Showcase, actually the first one I shot. Andrew has a magnetic personality. I can name on one hand the times I've met someone and decided almost instantly that I was going to be friends with them...Andrew is one of those people. I really connected to his music and became a fan immediately.

Black and White Photo of Andrew on Piano

Last night's show was at the SLO Down Pub in Arroyo Grande. All around it's a good venue. Asthetically it's awesome. There is great art everywhere. The lighting is OK for photography, I managed at f/2.8 and ISO 2000 sans flash. The stage is in a funny position because there are only three tables directly in front of it but several table to each side. It's kinda like the stage is in the large hallway between the bar and dining area.

Photograph of John Turner on Cello

Andrew was joined by John Turner on bass and chello and Rocky Logue on guitar and running sound. I should mention again that the chello is the perfect compliment to Andrew's voice, lyrics and playing style. I love the somberness it adds to the songs. Andrew played about 7 songs. I wish I'd taken a photo of the playlist but honestly I wasn't planning on writing this post. Also I was shooting off and on during the songs so a detailed account of his performance will not follow. Andrew stepped down from the stage to play The Fool In Me on piano. This song has become a favorite since he posted the video online.

Photograph of Andrew on Piano

One thing is certain, every song Andrew writes has a story, whether it's a girl, his travels or an experience...he is inspired by life. His words are candid and filled with longing. Lyrically he has found his edge and he is pushing it. I feel like he is on the road to finding his perfect sound, growing and learning along the way. He still shows a lot of influences and needs to completely find what make his voice original...I'd say he's at 90% though. Andrew's songs are dynamic and unbridled...he has rawness that I find appealing. Andrew's live performances have an intensity that I would imagine is difficult to capture in a recording. However, Rocky Logue did a great job in the previously mentioned video. Andrew has an amazing stage presence. He makes the best of a situation and can definitely laugh in the face of a noisy crowd. All in all, I'm a big fan and I look forward to watching him grow as a performer.

Photograph of Rocky Logue on Guitar

Andrew was followed by the Bob Lawrence Band's Debut show. I stayed for a couple of songs and took a couple of snaps. They describe themselves as "Texas music with a California twist." I can't wait to see them again soon. It was awesome to finally meet Natalie Haskins in the real world, we've been cyber friends for a few weeks now.

Photograph of Bob Lawrence Band



Close Up Photo of Bob Lawrence Band's Three Guitars

That's all for now but I should have another post up soon from tomorrow nights Central Coast Songwriter's Showcase at The Clubhouse.

-April Wise
http://www.aprilwisephotography.com/