On February 25th 2008 bands and musicians from all walks of life came together to support a cause that should strike a chord in all of us -The Station Nightclub Fire.  On February 23, 2003 several of our friends (whether in blood or just music) perished in the fire that struck the club that Great White was playing at.  Living in New England this is something that I have seen affect people on a personal basis from that very day until now.  It doesn’t go away.  For the remaining family members of those that were lost and to the survivors that live on with the scars and the burns, they are reminded of this event every day. 

The benefit concert was a way to celebrate the lives of those that were lost, to raise awareness of the troubles that the survivors are having both financially and emotionally, and to prove that musicians and their fans (regardless of the genre) will always step up to the plate when needed.

The show was hosted by Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider who really took the cause under his wing.  Some of the artists who participated from near and far were: John Rich, Dierks Bentley, Gretchen Wilson, Whiskey Falls, Aaron Lewis, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Kevin Max, Stryper, Marc Bonilla Carmine Appice’s,Tom Scholz & Gary Pihl of Boston, Eric Martin, Danny Seraphine with CTA, Facing Forward, Pete Fish, Travis Davis, Eric Cole, Brandon Allen Read, and Gary Hoey.  Fans showed up in record numbers to purchase tickets (who’s proceeds went to The Station Family Fund) and were treated to a once in a lifetime show.

I had the distinct pleasure of shooting the show.  I shot from the soundboard because VH1 was shooting from the photo pit to air the concert at a later date.  It was the first time I had to shoot a show from the soundboard so I was a little worried but I think I was able to capture some unique moments and hopefully share some of the magic of the show.

The Station Family Fund is always looking for your generous donations, so whether you have five dollars to spare or five hundred dollars to spare, it will go to a very good cause.  Donate here.

You can view my full gallery of photos from the show here.

On February 15th, Three Days Grace and Seether (Along with Breaking Benjamin and HURT) rocked the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.  I was shooting Three Days Grace and Seether to coincide with interviews I had done with members of both bands for an upcoming issue of Rocknation.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

HURT started the night off right with a solid set of rock. Seether was soon to follow. Having seen Seether a few times, I knew what to expect and was impressed as always.  You can check out my interview with Dale Stewart of Seether here.

Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace headlined the show and I had never seen them perform live even though I had interviewed two members of the band on two different occasions. (Most recently bassist Brad Walst for Rocknation; but also posted online here and lead vocalist Adam Gontier right before the release of their latest album for TheyWillRockyou which you can check out here.) Their set was amazing.

Full galleries of both sets have been posted to the photo gallery on TheyWillRockYou.com here.

As a lifelong New Englander and more importantly my obsession with music, I guess you could say I’m a fan of Aerosmith, so when the opportunity to interview Joe Perry was presented to me, I nearly peed my pants.

It’s always tough to prepare for an interview because you really never know how talkative or non-talkative an artist is going to be. They could give you one word answers or talk forever. The latter is definitely my preference but not always the case. A good interview should feel like a casual phone conversation with a friend with a comfortable flow. So considering all of that, I wondered how Joe Perry would be? Having met him briefly in the past at a show, he seemed pretty quiet so I really wasn’t sure.

Fast forward to the day of our interview, Joe could not have been a cooler guy. He talked honestly and openly about everything from his two sons and his involvement with their band TAB to his partnership with Guitar Hero to the current state of Aerosmith. After about 45 minutes and only having made it through about half of my questions I had to let Joe off of the hook since I had been asked to keep it to 30 minutes (which is still a really long time to talk to a rock legend!). When I hung up the phone, I did a happy dance and thanked my lucky stars that not all of my heroes are assholes!

You can read my interview with Joe in the February print issue of The Pulse (available in MA) or read it online at The Pulse here.

You can also read the full unedited version posted on TheyWillRockYou.com here.

You can also check out photos I took of Joe Perry performing with TAB here.

As a photographer it was a lot of fun to interview and bring some praise to local sports photographer and DCU Center house photographer Peter Cooke. You can read my article on Peter in the February issue of The Pulse or read it online here.

The February 2008 issue of The Pulse is now on the streets.  I’ve got a few pieces published in this issue so please pick it up!

You can check them out online as well:

One-on-One with Joe Perry of Aerosmith
Foo Fighters preview
Pulse Flicks - Spotlight on the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO)