Feast Your “Eye” On This!

One thing that I love the most about photographing the costuming community, is that their photos are always VERY entertaining, other-worldly, and unique… you just don’t see this stuff every day. Today I had the opportunity to photograph Chris in his “Residents” costume. Who are the Residents? Honestly, I didn’t now until I asked Chris about them, and googled some information.

From Wikipedia:

The Residents are an American avant-garde music and visual arts group. They have created over sixty albums, created numerous musical short films, designed three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs, and undertaken seven major world tours. Throughout their career, spanning nearly four decades, they have not disclosed their identity.

Just looking at these guys, I thought that I would have seen, or heard something about them over the past 35 years that they have been active.

Anyway, Chris is quite the Residents enthusiast, and wanted his costume photographed, so, we found an old deserted Naval Air Station of course: The South Weymouth Naval Air Station. Shutdown in 1997, it made for a interesting backdrop for the photoshoot. Here are some of the shots that we got:

 

Beatle Juice Comes To Melrose

I wouldn’t consider myself a huge Beatles fan, but being a musician, I am a lover of live music. Last night, at Memorial Hall, in Melrose, Massachusetts, Judy, myself, friends and family were all treated to Beatle Juice; a New England based Beatles cover band. There is just something about live music that takes any studio recordings that you hear day in and day out on a CD, or on the radio, and transforms it into something a bit more personal, with a little more heart. It rejuvenates your love, or interest in a particular band’s music, when it has become stale. I think I took away a better appreciation for the Beatles music after this performance.

My brother-in-law was kind enough to get us a table right in front of the stage… he’s “in” with the band. Judy and I got to dance for the first time since my cousins wedding back in February, and I got to have a couple of beers!

Three lead singers took turns during the four hour set. All were great! One of them sounded exactly like Paul McCartney. If you closed your eyes, you would have thought he was on stage. I, however, loved the energy and flare of Jimmy Rogers, who is also the singer of “Velvet Elvis.” He tore up the first act, and his performance was a very tough act for anyone to follow. I did bring my camera along and shot quite a few photos of the band performing. If you have never seen these guys live, you have to check them out, whether you’re a Beatles fan, or not. They put on a stellar show. Their performance helped benefit the Melrose K of C Food for the Needy Fundraiser.

 

Home Sick

Today Luke and I stayed home while Mary and Judy went out to an Easter egg hunt. Luke has been sick with a barking cough, and it was cold and raw outside, so we felt it was best to keep him home. He was a little upset when mom and Mary left without him, but when I asked him if he wanted to play my drums, his eyes lit up… It works eveytime!

 

Drummer Boy

Since I was about 15 I always wanted to play a musical instrument. Unfortunately, for me, my mother never considered the drums a musical instrument, and I’m pretty certain that the thought of a 15 year old banging senselessly on a drum set, led her to not allow such a thing in her house. Twenty four years later, I can understand that. At any rate, I took up guitar and piano to fill the void, and played drums from time to time over a friends house.

Still, the desire has always gnawed at me, and having a small home, with young kids; a loud, cumbersome, acoustic drum set still doesn’t seem practicle. However, technology has come a long way in 24 years, and I found a set that is compact, and can be used with a headset, or an amplifier, and sounds completely authentic to the real deal. So, about three weeks ago, I purchased an electronic drum set by Roland; The TD-9.

It’s like the instrument I was always meant to play, and even though it can be played “silently,” I’m sure that the subtle sound of repetitive thumping, from the base pedal, above the kitchen, occasionally drives Judy insane.

Since my kids are far more enjoyable to look at than me, I posted a couple of photos of them behind my new set. You can probably tell from the photos, that they love it just as much as I do.