Author Archives: charrcrail

Eddie Van Halen
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Eddie Van Halen, the rock god. The beautiful thing about Eddie is the glowing smile that comes across his face when he plays, like he’s having the best time of his life in that very moment.
What I saw of the show I loved, though frankly when you are working, which I was, it’s hard to enjoy because you are stressfully working the camera, the variables, lighting, who’s doing what and shooting like mad to make sure you get something good since you have hardly any time at all. It didn’t help that the third song featured Eddie on a solo at the start with a very dim blue light on him and all I could do was groan and hope they kicked in quick. With a photo pass and the rules are strict. three songs and in this case– from the soundboard– substantial distance from the stage. So, we got escorted to our spots (me standing on a chair to see above the crowd) and then promptly at the end of the third song we were escorted back out to the backstage area. No ticket, no stay for show. Worth it all anyway to see living legends in action.

Sammy Hagar
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Yay Sammy! What a cutie, what a fun guy to see performing. Strutting up and down the stage, smiling and gesturing and drinking it all in, flowing it all right back out again to the adoring public.

Shinedown Drummer
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Wow, the Shinedown drummer kicking ass. The stage show started in strobe mode, which made exposures a nightmare for me (and the other photogs) and then it seemed to change again every two seconds. Tough one. It stabilized after a time but let me tell you, it took a bit to get a handle on it. Yes, only other photographers will care about my lighting and exposure issues but I felt the need to vent. 🙂

Shinedown
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Shinedown had the honor of opening up for Van Halen at Arco Arena last night. I had heard the name but not the music and can see why Van Halen chose them to open– they were really great. We got to shoot from the pit on this one. This is the lead singer jumping from the drum platform. The guy had energy to burn and boy did he. He had an edgy look and attitude. At some points looking in the audience with almost a meanacing grin, and evil glint in his eye. At some point early on someone from the audience yelled “We want Van Halen!” How rude of course especially since Shinedown was putting on a solid show.

IMG_0079A
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Just a fun pic from the event. This whole gig was really something. I was there shooting it for Skip’s Music and they wanted every band. I have officially set a Charr record for the most bands shot in one day, which was previously 9 but is now 25. Woah! These kids– ranging in ages from 10 to around 17– were all mini rock stars for a day, complete with groupies. It was impressive how they got onstage, had all the moves going. The winning band, Nephilim, had the crowd in a frenzy– a front row of head bangers and a major mosh pit too!

eagles
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

This is Skip, Timothy B Schmit from The Eagles and me!

backstage
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

This is one of the bands that competed in Skip’s Music Stairway to Stardom event this past Sunday. Great event and wall to wall music. There were 25 bands, who each got 15 minutes to play three songs for a panel of judges. Last years winning band– The F-Bombs– performed first. This is not the winning band, but they were in the hallway waiting their turn and in high spirits so I turned the camera on them to catch this image. Thanks guys. Fun.

charrandgavin
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Here I am with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the man who openly challenged California state law by allowing same-sex couples to legally marry. I was hired to shoot pics at a party in his honor in Midtown the other night. It was quite an event too. So tightly packed with people that moving around was nearly impossible. Absolutely wall to wall people. Fun though. The photographer originally scheduled to shoot it was called away to shoot a bar-b-que for Govenor Arnold so I got called last minute. Happy to oblige! All night, repeatedly, everywhere I went someone was leaning into me telling me how cute the mayor is… asking me to get their photo with him… men, women, old, young. Everyone in that room wanted a little piece and he was right there to charm them all. I guess I did too since I added him to my collection. Thanks Gavin for indulging me!

crowd Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Normally, when they have a photo pit they let us be there to shoot for three songs. Tonight they said no photos from the pit at all. Too dangerous due to crowd surfing. Ultimately there were maybe three people who went over the barricade but that’s it. One of them was a huge fan who was in a wheelchair. Jacoby started a “Parting of the Red Sea” as I heard it called. (also known as “The Braveheart”– Okay, so I can be kinda geeky when it comes to the rock and roll lingo) Basically asking the audience to split into two sides and wait for his signal to slam into the giant mosh pit. The security guys took good care of him and he was safe and sound. Everyone I have ever seen go over the barricade comes out of it thrilled and exhilarated. Almost like getting that close to the band is like touching the almighty (or whatever it is you subscribe to). Don’t think I’ll be crowd surfing anytime soon. Ahhh, youth. Anyway, I managed to plant myself in one decent spot and stayed there while Kevin roamed. At least they had decent stage lighting for a change. The bigger bands usually do.
One last thing– You know, I never considered myself short until I got seriously involved in shooting this kind of stuff. If you want to see more pics from this show go to http://www.empireeventscenter.com/gallery/

.	dave Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

This is Dave, the drummer. He’s married to Mia Tyler, Liv’s sister! Woo Hoo! He’s also exceptionally nice. Had a decent chat with him at sound check (he said I could shoot from behind him on the stage but the tour manager nixed it) and then after the show too while he was meeting fans outside the tour bus. He hugged me hello much to my delight! It’s interesting… I try not to get in the way, act like a fan, or try to get something from these people. They deal with enough of that already. I just do my photo thing. But now and then you meet someone unusually genuine and friendly. That’s Dave