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

jacobyandme Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

That’s the (affectionate) moniker Kevin has given me… Gee, thanks. But the truth is he’s really just jealous… 🙂 Can’t help it, love doing it.
This is me and Jacoby Shaddix, out front of the club after the show. It’s actually a pretty good one of me for a change! Bless my sweet little fisheye lens!!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Once again we went off to club DNA in San Francisco for a thrash metal show. Have I said before how much I often hate the music? Well, this time was different. The entertainment factor far overpowered the experience and I was grinning ear to ear. I LOVED this show. And the two opening acts– PUSH and Sparrow’s Point– were far better and more entertaining than the headliner WASP, who had a strict policy against being photographed so they made us leave the club and deposit our gear back in the car. Ridiculous.

BUT– This is Star, the lead singer for the band PUSH. What a sweetie he is too. You would never know it by the stage persona. He has this wild microphone that he calls Baby Elvis and it has flashing blue eyes.